Hakuouki: Journey to the Past
by Rinakuri
Summary: Ready to move to her new home with her boyfriend, 21-year-old Abigail suffers a horrible car accident. Waking up in the land of her favorite anime show Hakuouki and losing everything she held dear, she starts a new and rough life with the Shinsengumi. Will this new chance to live give her the redemption she deserves?
1. Chapter 1: It was destiny

**Chapter 1: It was destiny**

At the age of 21, it was time for her to finally move on with her life, become a fully independent woman. She was ready to move with her boyfriend, even though she was having some doubts. Her family was supportive of her decision, even given the circumstances, but she had to learn how to be on her own in the absence of her family. Her boyfriend was no angel, involved once with drugs and guns underground, yet she wasn't that soft natured. She held her ground against men pretty well, even for her petite figure.

Tonight was the big night, she had prepared her luggage, all of it, and was now heading to the first floor of her family house, where her whole family was waiting. "I knew this day would come… but I was not ready…" her mother said, holding her in a tight embrace as her two older brothers walked up to them slowly. They both said their goodbyes, and last… was her father. His face with a saddened expression as he walked to her, lifting his hand to caress her cheek gently "You have become a grown woman now Abigail, remember to make the best choices from now on" Abigail nodded "Yes papa".

Ever since she was little she respected her father for his immense wisdom, which was one of the reasons she was afraid to present her delinquent boyfriend. Even after the news about her boyfriend being a former drug dealer, her father talked in private for several hours that day, she was 18 at the time, and he was 21. Her father then approved, watching as both children turned into proper adults, and now, he was seeing off the only daughter he had. "Oh, and Abigail, never forget the meaning of your name".

She looked back at her father wide-eyed, midway to the car. _My name… it means "The father's joy, good in discretion and beautiful in form"_ she thought as tears formed in her eyes. She ran back to her father, giving him one last hug before she departed with her beloved, then looked up at him "I promise to take care of myself papa" and with those last words, they let go of each other, her father giving her a kiss on her forehead before leaving.

She got in the car, and waved at her family with a teary smile on her face. Her boyfriend drove off, leaving her old home far in the distance. What she didn't know, was that this was the last time she would see any of them.

* * *

It was almost midnight, and Abigail was watching her favorite anime in her phone on the way _Hakuouki huh? I have seen it so many times I almost memorized it, I wonder how it was actually back in that time…_ As she was distracted in her own world, she didn't notice her boyfriend was almost falling asleep while driving. Riding on a steep mountain road at midnight was not as safe, but it was the fastest way to the town they were gonna be living in.

Her boyfriend's eyes closed completely, and the car was slowly running to the very center of the road. Lights were seen from far away, getting close rather quickly. It was then that Abigail noticed, a little bit too late. "KINO! WATCH OUT!" she yelled, waking him up immediately. He turned the car out of the way, but to their demise, they were on the open side of the road, and they fell down the mountain, the car crashing and burning when it reached the end of the mountain…

* * *

 _Abigail, it means The father's joy, good in discretion and beautiful in form, so never forget Abigail, you are my greatest joy, act wisely once you turn into a woman…_

The strong sun rays of summer woke her, yet she refused to open her eyes. _Hey… hey wake up!_ She heard a voice from far away, and it was then that she decided to open her eyes slowly, wincing as the brightness hurt her eyes. "Nng… what happened…?" she asked, looking hazily around her, noticing an unfamiliar silhouette over her. She then blinked and sat up with a jolt, which she immediately regret.

Moaning loudly in pain, she held her head, noticing the sharp pain through her whole body. "Try not to move too quickly… it seems you suffered quite the amount of hits…" a deep but gentle voice said to her. It took her a moment to realize her surroundings, and she slowly looked around her, noticing the impressively different environment. "Wait a moment… where am I?" she asked.

"You are in Kyoto young lady" the voice responded, it was then that she decided to look at the source of it, her eyes widening at the familiar face. She gasped, but then wince and moaned in pain once again, holding the right side of her rib cage with her left hand. "Ah! Easy there!" the man said, but it was too late, for she had already fainted from the excruciating pain "M-my… belongings…" was all she could say before passing out cold.

The man looked around nervously, noticing a few weird items scattered around them. "Sano-san!" a childish voice called from afar, followed by a young boy running to them by a big, muscular guy's side. Their eyes widened at the scene, and Sano turned to them with distressed eyes "Get all those items! We need to take her to Yamazaki quickly!" he yelled, carrying the mysterious girl in his arms as her blood stained his red and white bandages that covered half of his torso.

* * *

 _How is she?_ More voices from far away, voices she could not recognize at first. _I am not sure, she got bruises and burn all over her body… what accident could cause such harm on such a small body?_ She kept hearing the voices, more clearly now, which caused her to slowly open her eyes.

She groaned softly as she tried to adjust her vision, she noticed she was now in a small, wooden room. Her violet eyes were dull, as she was still not fully conscious. "Those eyes…" a familiar voice said, she blinked twice, finally adjusting her vision. "huh… where… where am I?" Abigail asked, looking around her as much as she could. "Try not to move too much, you are still deeply wounded" when she looked at the source of the recognizable voice, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Harada… Sanosuke?" she asked softly, to which he replied with wide, surprised eyes.

"How do you know my name? It isn't normal for a beautiful girl like yourself to know my name" He asked.

"Uhm… well…" she was about to reply when the sliding door suddenly opened in a rush, a rather young looking boy panting at the frame, it seemed he was running.

Everyone in the room looked at the boy surprised, and then he yelled "Is she okay?!" Abigail winced a little at how loud he was, and then looked to her right when another man started talking "She is stable, though she will need around 2 or 3 days of rest until she fully recovers" said the other man, whom she identified quickly "Susumu Yamazaki?" she said in a low voice to make sure he didn't hear her.

"That's a relief! I thought she was gonna die for sure." The boy said, sighing loudly. _Toudo Heisuke too… can it be that I am inside Hakuouki?!_ She thought. At that very second her thoughts were interrupted by another man standing behind Heisuke. At the sight of the man, Abigail gasped and blushed, eyes wide with surprise.

"Is she finally awake?" the man asked in a deep voice, almost intimidating.

"Yes commander, she just woke up." Harada replied "Though she is still rather delicate right now."

"Hmm…" the man put his thumb on his chin, he appeared to be thinking, looking at the floor. "H-hey! You are in no condition to be sitting up!" at those words, the thoughtful man's eyes widened and looked at the girl, whom was sitting up with all the strength she currently had.

"H-Hijikata Toshizo… it's you right?!" she asked between gasps, her cheeks flushed red and beads of sweat running down her forehead and neck. Everybody in the room looked at her in shock, unable to decipher how the mysteriously dressed girl knew their vice-commander's name.

Hijikata, completely dumbfounded for a few seconds, then glared at the girl that called him "You… how do you know my name?" he asked in a dark tone. He walked to her and kneeled in front of her, grabbing her shoulder harshly, to which she whined loudly in pain "Are you some sort of spy? Answer me!"

"Hijikata-san wait! She is still deeply wounded! The wounds ight reopen if we mistreat her right now!" Harada grabbed onto Hijikata's wrist, trying to convince the vice-commander to let go of the girl. "She knows my name as well, and she looked at us as if she recognized us, let's wait until she recovers and then we can-"

Harada's words were cut off at the sound of her pained voice. They were all looking at her now, only to notice her face had gotten pale "m-my… my arm…" she whimpered. To both Hijikata's and Harada's surprise, Hijikata's hand was covered in blood, which made him retreat it quickly, only to notice she had a big piece of glass embedded in her shoulder.

"Yamazaki!" Hijikata yelled, watching as Yamazaki quickly started to remove the thick piece of glass, to which she screamed.

Footsteps were heard in response to her loud shriek "What was that noise?!" A tall, muscular man yelled from the frame of the door, his eyes widening at the sight before him "W-what is that?!" he yelled.

"Sano, take everyone out of the room, now." Hijikata ordered, and Harada quickly followed it, ushering everyone out of the room and closing the door behind them as Yamazaki continued the procedure. It took several minutes to fully remove the glass and treat the wound. Abigail was finally asleep, Hijikata still looking at the girl with doubtful eyes.

"Vice-comander… I think it will be best to let her rest until tomorrow, I know it's disturbing that such a strange-looking woman knows about us, but all we can do is wait." Yamazaki said silently, opening the door to leave the room. Hijikata then sighed "Yes, I believe you are right" and with that, Hijikata stood up and left the room, closing it behind him, darkness overtaking the room.

* * *

It was now morning, Abigail's eyes opened as the sun rays hit her face. She sat up slowly, scanning the room, only to notice she was completely alone "How… How long have I been asleep?" She asked herself. For the looks of it she had been sleeping for days, her body no longer in that unbearable pain, only a slight ache. She then looked at herself, noticing she was not wearing her usual clothes, it was a white kimono instead.

A shadow was at the door, opening the door slowly. Abigail quickly covered herself, not saying a word until she could clearly see who was entering the room. It was none other that Hijikata, followed by Harada. They both got in the room silently as to not disturb her, and they proceeded to sit by the tatami's left side.

"It seems you are much better from your wounds now." Harada said with a gentle tone.

"Y-yes… I am sorry for all the trouble I caused you" Abigail said, looking down at her lap.

Clearing his throat, Hijikata started speaking now "Let's go straight to the point here… how do you know our names?" his eyes looking straight at hers, glowing in a slightly darker shade of violet.

Her eyes then looked straight at his, her expression rather serious than scared now. "If I tell you… will you believe me?" she asked, looking down at her lap once again, her hands balled into fists, trembling slightly.

"Is something the matter? What could possibly make you think we will not believe you if it is the truth?" Harada asked, touching her hands gently, which to a certain degree calmed her.

Abigail then looked at both of them, completely convinced she had to tell them the truth "Well… I come from the future, and not just from the future, but also from England." she said softly, to which both men's eyes widened in surprise.

Hijikata's eyes then glared at her, full of fury "Look here, don't you go playing games with us, there is no way possible that you come from the future." he said, menacingly.

"But I do! I-if you want, you can check one of my bags!" she protested, pointing at her light blue sports bag. "Some of my clothes are there, you can see they are completely different from the clothes here."

At this, Harada stood up and opened the bag, completely dumbfounded by the zipper. His eyes widened as his cheeks turned bright red, pulling a red lace pantie "W-what is this?" he stuttered. Abigail gasped "Put it back inside! S-sorry to make you look in that one!" she yelled, her face now completely red _Shoot I forgot that was the lingerie bag!_ She thought.

Hijikata then cleared his throat, trying to ignore the incident "Care to explain why you know our names?"

To this, Abigail then started explaining about everything, how she had watched them in an anime series, how she read the historical books about the Shinsengumi in the Edo era.

Both Hijikata and Harada seemed quite confused, then it was Harada's time to ask "Hey… if you come from such a distant time and land, how exactly did you get here?"

As soon as he asked, Abigail's eyes widened. How did she get there? All she remembers is going in Kino's car and… She then gasped, covering her mouth with both hands as tears formed in her eyes. "H-hey… uh… is everything ok?" Harada asked, getting closer to her as Hijikata curiously watched her reaction.

"I was… I was on my way to my new home… It was almost midnight, my boyfriend fell asleep while driving…" she started explaining, sobbing lightly "Another car almost hit us and I screamed to him, making him lose control over our car… then we fell down the mountain… after that, I only remember seeing his dead body all blurred out, when I woke up I saw you Harada-san…" she said, crying softly.

"So… your beloved didn't survive the fall?" Harada asked, to which she nodded gently. He then pulled her to him, letting her cry wildly. Throwing a glance at Hijikata, who sighed softly with a frown in his face after hearing her story.

"Young girl…" Hijikata started speaking "What is your name?"

She then looked at him, her eyes gleaming in their light purple tone "My name…" at the sight of her face, cheeks all red and tears running down them quickly, Hijikata's eyes widened slightly. "My name is Abigail." she answered.

Hijikata was frozen, making Harada look at him "Hijikata-san?" He then snapped back to reality, standing up rather quickly and walking to the door. Before opening it, he said "If you have no place to stay, you can stay here if you desire." he then opened the door and left the room, closing it behind him.

Both Harada and Abigail looked at the door in shock, and then looked at each other. At that exact moment Harada let go of her, completely blushed "S-sorry, it seems we were too close for too long." he said, looking away from her. She giggled slightly "It's alright, no harm done." she smiled softly, causing him to smile as well.

Harada then stood up "Well, I have to get going now, I will let you rest a little bit more." he said, walking towards the door, then looking back at her. He smiled "Welcome to the Shinsengumi Abigail." he said gently. Here eyes widened, her cheeks turning a soft pink.

"Thank you, Harada-san." she smiled back, and he left the room, closing the door behind him. _I was supposed to die in the accident, instead, I woke up in the world of Hakuouki… this must be… destiny…_


	2. Chapter 2: Something in her eyes

**Chapter 2: Something in her eyes**

It has been already 2 weeks since Abigail arrived at the Shinsengumi's headquarters. Up an running about, Abigail fully recovered from her injuries from the accident. At least… the physical injuries.

 _Kino…_ she thought as she looked at her necklace. A thin silver chain with an hourglass with red sand as a charm _Kino…!_ Her thoughts desperately screamed for her now dead boyfriend, tears forming in her eyes as she cried silently. _Three years together… about to live together and get married… why did this happen?_

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a knock on her door. She quickly put a long thin robe over her, for she was wearing a white baby doll. She refused to use the clothes she was offered, for she had already more than enough clothes on her own, over that it was summer, the heat was just gonna get to her with this time's clothing.

"Abigail, may I come in?" it was Harada.

"Yes, come on in." she replied, and he opened the door, walking inside. At the sight of her, he gasped and looked away, cheeks bright pink. She was just finished closing the robe over her, but that didn't stop him from getting a peek of her sleeping dress.

"Everything ok, Harada-san?" she asked curiously.

"Y-yes… d-don't worry about me." He stuttered. "Hijikata-san called for you, he wants everyone to meet you."

Abigail's eyes widened slightly, her cheeks turning a pale pink. She looked down at her bare feet.

"Are you still not feeling alright? I can tell him you are still tired." Harada said, but got interrupted.

"I-it's alright, just let me get changed ok?" she said hastily, ushering him out of the room "I will be there shortly." she said, closing the door quickly. He looked at the door with surprised eyes, then turned around, looking up at the sky _She's a strange one alright._ He thought, smiling gently.

* * *

It took her around ten minutes to change, she was wearing short blue jeans, a white Victorian blouse with a black corset over it and dark grey ankle high boots. Tying up her long, silver hair in a tight ponytail, she was ready to head out. She opened the sliding door, greeted by Harada, whose face was completely red.

"U-uh… Abigail…" he started.

"Yes?" she looked at him as if nothing was wrong with her attire.

"N-nevermind, let's go." He turned around quickly walking ahead and leading the way.

She looked at him curiously, but decided to brush it off and follow him. They arrived at the meeting room, Harada opening the door before them. Everyone was inside, Hijikata, Kondou and Sannan sitting at the front of the room. Abigail sat at the middle of the room with all the men around her. She looked around, recognizing every single male in the room. She was suddenly interrupted by Hijikata, who cleared his throat to catch her attention "You know… you could at least cover up a bit more…" he said lowly.

At his words, she immediately recalled from the anime show he was like a naggy grandma _Oh boy… sorry, but not with me Hijikata-san._ She thought, answering "With all due respect Hijikata-san, the heat is a bit too intense for me, if I were to use one of the kimonos or any piece of clothing from this time, I will surely die of a heat stroke." She had to admit, even though he has always been her favorite character, she wasn't gonna submit to a man's orders. She realized she had been too tired when she first arrived, and couldn't make much of the situation, but this time she was fully awake and completely conscious of her actions.

The others in the room looked at her wide-eyes, for she had just responded to their vice-commander. "Huh… so that strange blue book said the truth about you, you don't really listen to men." Hijikata said, to which Abigail gasped.

"Wait… you have Kino's diary?!" she asked loudly.

Hijikata nodded, taking it out of his left sleeve, placing it in front of her. She almost instinctively rushed to grab it, holding in tightly against her chest, then looked up at Hijikata "Where did you find this?" she asked.

"That is not our primary issue, I wish to confirm something first, from you." he said sternly, making her look straight at him. Her eyes now showing a deep seriousness, looking straight at the vice commander. "I want you to look around you and identify the names of each one, including me." he instructed.

 _So you want to know if I know the names of everyone huh?_ She thought, nodding once and looking around her. From left to right, she pointed and started saying names in the order they were sitting "Keisuke Sannan, Isami Kondo, and Hijikata Toshizo…" she then turned to her right, doing the same "Okita Souji, Saito Hajime…" then she turned to her left "Harada Sanosuke, Toudou Heisuke and Nagakura Shinpachi."

She sighed, looking around a bit more, to which Hijikata asked "Anything wrong?" he asked calmly. "I am missing three that are not here…" she said without noticing the reaction of everyone else in the room.

"How did you know there are three more?" Sannan asked, baffled.

Abigail looked at him straight in the eyes "Cause I am from the future, I have seen you all before." she said plainly. Since she didn't look around anymore, she failed to notice a serious but dumbfounded Saitou looking at her.

 _This girl… is she an assassin?_ He thought, but judging from her appearance, he was not too convinced.

It was then that Hijikata started talking "Just as I expected, we haven't seen you in our lives before yet you know us already." Abigail nodded.

"Yes, I also know about the Rasestsu." Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth as soon as she said those words. When she looked back up, she saw a lot of surprised faces, except Hijikata, who was now giving her a death glare.

"Well this is far more problematic than I expected…" said a familiar voice from her right side, when she looked to her side, it was none other that Okita "Maybe we should finally kill her?"

To his words, Abigail snapped a little, though she had experienced death at first hand, she despised the thought of it. Glaring at him, she spoke in a low, menacing voice "I don't believe that is something you should joke about…" hearing those words, everybody went silent. Harada's eyes shifted from her to Hijikata, who looked back at him since they knew the full story of the petite beauty.

"Why don't you just present yourself to the rest?" Harada suggested, and she looked at him, realizing they didn't even know her name.

"Oh! Right…" she stood up straight "My name is Abigail, nice to meet you guys." She simply bowed her head slightly then sat on her knees again. The others started greeting her, Saito watching silently from afar.

* * *

After greeting the mysterious girl named Abigail, the captains of the Shinsengumi left the meeting room, Harada offering himself to take Abigail back to her room. All except Saito, who was still sitting down waiting for his comrades to leave the room.

It was then that Hijikata noticed Saito's prescence "Is something the matter Saito?"

"Sir, with all due respect, is she really the same girl bedridden a few days ago? Harada described her… differently." Saito responded, his serious tone had a hint of concern, making Hijikata nod.

"She was injured and not fully conscious, I believe her behavior right now is her true nature." Hijikata said, looking at his comrade straight in the eye "I understand your concern, I have never seen someone talk to Souji that way before."

Saito nodded once "Her eyes… the way she glared at Souji was almost as if he had offended her critically…"

"Well, I would not blame her, her now deceased partner died after the incident that brought her here, and apparently he was involved in dangerous affairs that included death." Hearing those words from Hijikata, Saito could not help but look up at his vice-commander's eyes in concern.

"Deceased partner sir?" he asked, wondering about the life of the girl before she arrived to this world. Saito's suspicions were completely brushed off, the girl could not have possibly an assassin after such a terrible loss. "Was she also involved in those affairs?" he asked curiously.

"From what she told Harada and I, it seems so, it also seems she has experience killing people too." Saito's eyes were now slighting shocked _A woman that has experience killing people? What kind of world did she live in?_ he thought quietly, standing up and leaving the room. "Saito, prepare for patrolling today." Hijikata ordered, and Saito looked back, nodding slightly.

"Understood." he said, walking out of the meeting room.

* * *

Once they reached her room, Abigail just stared blankly as the door to her room opened _Maybe we should finally kill her?_ She remembered Souji's joke and how she had reacted. She was in such a deep thought, she didn't notice Harada was calling to her.

"Hey, Abigail!" he screamed, making her blink twice and snap out of her trance.

"A-ah, y-yes? I'm sorry I was… distracted." she admitted, looking down at the floor.

"Are you sure you are fine now?" Harada asked, concern clear in his eyes.

"Y-yes… it's just… I am trying to accept the fact that Kino died…" she said softly, tears forming in her eyes. Seeing this, Harada pulled her gently towards him, her face against his chest.

"If you want to cry, don't hesitate to use me as the shoulder to cry on." he said, caressing her bare shoulder. He noticed yet decided to ignore the fact to console her as she silently cried on him. After a few short minutes, she calmed down and pulled away, looking up at him with determination.

"Harada-san… I will get stronger… I promise…" she said sternly. Harada's eyes widened in surprise as he looked straight at her eyes _Her eyes… there is something in them that I cannot figure out. She really is different._ He thought. What the both of them didn't know, was that they were being silently watched.


	3. Chapter 3: Impressive abilities

**Chapter 3: Impressive abilities… for a human**

Abigail have been getting used to her new life with the Shinsengumi, and today she was going to fix the room she was given. It was almost the middle of the day, and she was still not done unpacking and setting up her belongings. Everything was going great until a strange blue and grey back fell from inside one of her own bags. Abigail's eyes widened, immediately identifying the bag _This is… Kino's bag_ she thought as she picked it up gently. Noticing how heavy it was, she was now curious as to what was inside and put it softly back down on the floor.

The zipper of the bag was rather large, for a medium small bag that is. She pulled on the zipper, opened the bag, and gasped. Walking backwards she didn't notice the bags scattered across her room and she tripped, screaming as she fell backwards.

Her door was suddenly opened with force, only to see a shocked and concerned Hijikata at the frame. "Abigail… are you alright?" he asked.

Abigail nodded "Yes… I just tripped on my own bag…"

Walking towards her, Hijikata offered a hand "Here, let me help you there."

"Uh… Hijikata-san?" Abigail started, catching the vice-commander's attention "I want to show you something…" she said, looking at the blue and grey bag with troubled eyes.

"Everything alright?" Hijikata asked, watching as Abigail walked slowly towards the bag, reaching inside for it. She then pulled a 9mm handgun from the bag, and after making sure it was safely locket and without bullets, she directly showed it to Hijikata.

"What is that?" Hijikata asked curiously.

"It's a gun, Hijikata-san, a modern one." Abigail replied, slight fear in her voice. "In the time I was living we used these to kill other people… just like Kino did when he was alive… and just like…" she trailed off, looking down at the gun.

* * *

 **2 years ago**

Running from the thugs, she ended up in a dead end alley. Panting loudly, she touched around her pants trying to find the gun her boyfriend had given her in case of an emergency when he was absent. Before she could reach her gun, one of the thugs jumped on her, making them fall on the floor and causing her to hit her head against the floor. She had always loved martial arts, and so she asked her parents to join karate classes since she was a little girl. Being a black belt, she developed the instinct of protecting herself only in dire situations, and this was clearly one of them.

Gracefully and skillfully, she flipped the man, letting him fall harshly against the floor. She ended up on top of him, punching him straight in the nose and making him unconscious. "You bitch!" screamed the second thug, running at her with a pocket knife. She swiftly dodged his rather amateur attack, and with a single swing of her arm she hit the thug behind his neck, knocking him out as well.

It was then that she faced the third and last thug "Stop it right there bitch! I will shoot you!" the thug yelled. She glared darkly at him, her eyes turning light blue instead of the amethyst tone she usually had. She moved so fast that he couldn't catch a glimpse of her movement, grabbing the gun in her pocket and shooting it without a second thought. The bullet had gone through his forehead, not giving him time to make a sound as he fell on the concrete, a pool of blood forming from underneath his head.

Abigail then blinked, snapping back to reality. When she noticed what she had just done, her eyes widened in fear, now their usual purple color. _What have I done?! Have I just… killed a man?!_ She thought nervously, and then she screamed, echoing through the whole alley.

* * *

"Abigail?" Hijikata asked once again, shaking her arm softly, which made her blink and snap back to her reality.

"Huh? Oh… sorry, I was spaced out…" she admitted, looking towards the single window that decorated her room.

"Well, now that you have come back to reality, I guess I can go now." he said coldly, walking out of her room "Oh?"

"Hijikata-san?" it was Harada, and Abigail instinctively looked at their direction. "This is strange, what are you doing in Abigail's room?" he asked.

Abigail's cheeks turned pink _Oh no… I hope he doesn't think we did something strange here._ She thought, and then heard Hijikata speak. "I was passing by when I heard her scream, so I checked everything was well with her." his calm tone made Abigail regain herself.

"Oh really? Is that true Abigail?" Harada peeked from over Hijikata's shoulder, looking intently with his amber eyes.

Abigail blinked "Huh? It's true, why?"

"Why you… questioning your vice-commander!" Hijikata snapped as Harada chuckled at his reaction. Since Abigail was behind Hijikata, she couldn't see that he was actually slightly blushing, and then he walked hastily towards the dining room.

"Well, lunch is ready, shall we go?" Harada asked and Abigail nodded.

As they walked towards the dining room, Harada couldn't help but look down at the petite beauty walking by his side. She was wearing a long, sleeveless dark red dress with a silver tree printed on the front.

"Hey, Abigail?" he started asking.

Abigail looked up at him "Yes?"

"In your time, do people dress like you all the time?" he looked at her slightly embarrassed, as if he didn't want to know the answer.

"Not everyone, I am what they call a goth woman." she explained simply.

"A… goth woman?" Harada asked, completely confused.

Abigail's eyes widened slightly _Shit I forgot this is another era._ She looked at him and started explaining. "Women that dress almost always in dark colors, or Victorian style, which is like the white frilly shirt and black corset I had yesterday." Since she noticed Harada was still not understanding, she sighed "It's how they dress in this time in England and America." as soon as she mentioned those two places, Harada reacted.

"Ah, so that's how the western people dress?" he asked as if he had gained extreme knowledge and wanted more.

Abigail nodded "Only that in the time I was living, women don't really cover their bodies all that much, and everyone is totally fine with that. Not just that some women even wear almost transparent shirts to show their underwear, which I personally despise." she explained, Harada looking at her as if he had seen a ghost.

"Women do WHAT?!" he yelled without noticing they were already in front of the dining room. His scream had made Heisuke open the door almost immediately.

"Sano-san? What happened?" he asked, complete concern in his eyes.

"Oh Heisuke, sorry about that, Abigail was explaining something about women attire in her time and I got shocked by what she was explaining to me." to this, Heisuke now looked at Abigail curiously.

"If it is that shocking… why not share it with all of us?" Saito said, not looking up from his bowl of rice.

"Great idea Saito-san!" Heisuke chimmed "Come on in! The food will get cold!"

Stepping inside and sitting in their respective places, Harada and Abigail were almost immediately attacked with questions. "So, what was the shocking thing Abigail said?" Heisuke asked excitedly. Harada and Abigail looked at each other, then Abigail started explaining everything to the others.

Some of them were blushing harshly, and others looked in slight disgust, like Hijikata and Sannan. Saito didn't react much to what Abigail was explaining. Then there was Okita, who was really curious and amazed at what he was hearing.

"So you are telling me that women in your time openly show their breasts in public?" Okita asked and Abigail nodded.

"Not completely, but most of it. Since they have really big ones…" Abigail said annoyingly.

Okita started laughing, then Saito looked at Abigail's annoyed face "Anything the matter?" he asked.

"Oh no, it's just that I remembered some of the women do it on purpose to steal away men." She said as she continued eating.

"Steal men you say? What do you mean?" Hijikata asked, everyone else looking at him in surprise since he had been completely silent.

"They do it to lure men into their beds, some girls have sex with more than one man, since it is not required to be married to do so in my time." she explained, everyone looking at her with immense shock. She noticed this, looking at everyone in the room "Relax guys, I am not one of them, though I am not virgin anymore I don't go luring men, it's disgraceful for a woman to do that. Besides I… I have decided not to get involved with anyone… in a long time…" There was silence in the room for a long moment, and Abigail decided to stand up "Please excuse me…" she said, walking out of the room quickly and closing the door behind her.

Everyone in the room was silent for a long time, the three commanders eating as if nothing had happened. It was Okita, who was looking at the door rather concerned, that broke that silence. "What exactly did she mean by that?" he asked in a cold tone.

"It means…" Harada started "That she is currently heartbroken." when they heard it, they couldn't help but start asking questions.

"Sano-san, what do you mean by heartbroken?" Heisuke asked, Shinpachi looking with the same level of concern in his eyes.

"She told me that before she appeared here she had a partner, his name was Kino. He had died in the accident that brought her to this world." Everyone but Hijikata was surprised at what Harada had said.

"So… is she a widow?" Shinpachi asked, and Harada shook his head.

"No, they were not exactly married… They were just 'getting to know each other', like she explained to me." Harada explained with a grim expression on his face.

After that, everyone in the room went quiet, finishing their lunch.

* * *

Abigail was sitting on the wooden hallways, looking at the sky. _Man… this is boring, I wish I could practice some karate with someone…_ she though, unconsciously forming a pout. She was so distracted she didn't hear the footsteps that approached her.

"Abigail? Is something the matter?" It was none other than Saito.

Her eyes widened in surprise "Oh! Saito-san! I didn't hear you arrive." she exclaimed.

Saito then closed his eyes "I just got here, you noticed just in time."

"Oh, alright." She looked at him blankly.

"Something the matter?" Saito repeated shortly.

"Well, I was thinking I was bored, and wanted to practice some martial arts with someone." she started "But… being a woman and all I don't suppose you will accept it." looking at the ground and moving her legs back and forth, she started realizing something from when she saw the anime. _Wait a minute… in the anime they let Chizuru prove she can defend herself… could they do that with me as well?_

She blinked once, her eyes widening in shock _Now that I think about it… we are close to spring season… where is Chizuru?_ She started wondering. _Have I taken over her instead?_

"Are you any good?" Saito asked, and Abigail immediately looked at him, shocked.

"Let's just try and see." she said, a sudden smirk on her face. "Let me get changed into my karate uniform ok?" she said as she stood up and walked into her room. In less than 5 minutes she was wearing the traditional karate uniform, it was all black.

Saito looked at her slightly surprised, then he walked with her to the yard in front of her room.

"So, you said karate, I suppose we won't be needing weapons then." Saito said softly "Given the fact you didn't bring out a katana with you either."

"Nope, it's all with punches and kicks." Abigail said enthusiastically.

They were standing in the yard in front of her room, at a considerate distance as well. Abigail got into an offensive stance almost immediately, while Saito was standing as always, calm and collected.

"If you don't take me seriously you will regret it." Abigail smirked.

"Then show me the best you can do." Saito plainly replied.

At his words, Abigail lunged at him quickly, almost too quick for him to see. With her hands open, she started aiming for the pressure points _If I use pressure instead of strength I will be able to do something later._ She thought, pushing him forcefully, her hands hitting his left side. Saito's eyes widened in surprise for an instant _She just pushed my ribs?_ He thought, looking at her.

 _A fox?_ It was all he could compare her with, as she stood at the other side like an animal searching her prey. Her eyes looked serious now, as she ran to him once again. This time, Saito expected a push, blocking her hands at the last second, to which she then crouched and spun around, swinging her leg around. Saito jumped, barely escaping her leg, and he then brought his hand down to her neck. To his surprise, she turned just in time to catch his wrist, flinging him over her petite body and making him fall flat on his back.

Abigail was slightly panting, not taking her eyes off Saito's, as he did the same with his azure ones. Claps snapped the two out of their bubble, looking at the audience they had. Okita, Heisuke, Harada and Hijikata were watching the whole fight, Hijikata had his arms crossed over his chest, slightly smirking.

"That was good Abigail." Okita said, smirking teasingly.

"Want to be next Okita-san?" she dared, to which he just simply shook his head.

"No thenk you, I don't want you throwing me on the ground." he joked.

Abigail straightened up, offering a hand to Saito "Good match, here, grab my hand, I will help you up." she smiled gently.

Saito's eyes looked at her surprised for a split second, then he grabbed her hand as she helped him up, smiling slightly "Yeah, nice job Abigail." he said, turning away and walking towards the wooden hallway.

Abigail blinked _Oh yeah! Might as well ask._ She thought, walking to the group of men "Excuse me but, what year is this?" She looked at them with intense eyes, making the men look at her with clear shock and curiosity.

It was Hijikata who answered "It's almost the end of 1863, why?"

When she heard the year, Abigail's eyes widened _1863?! Based on the anime Chizuru met the Shinsengumi on April of 1864. Does that mean I will be able to meet her?!_

Saito kept walking away from the group quietly, Okita following him "Hey, Hajime-kun, what's wrong?"

Saito stopped and looked at Okita "That girl… she surprised me."

Okita then smirked, looking back at the girl talking to the other men "Yeah… such impressive abilities… for a human girl that is." The wind then started blowing softly, making her bangs float away from her face in a gracious manner, showing how her eyes gleamed in their mysterious amethyst tone. Then Okita caught a glimpse of something strange, one of her eyes slighty turned light blue, almost like clear water. To this, he couldn't help but look at the silver-haired woman in slight awe.


	4. Chapter 4: A promise beneath the stars

Chapter 4: A promise beneath the stars

Saturday, September 9, 2017

5:37 PM

After Abigail's sparring match with Saito, she decided to go back to her room to rest. _So, I might be able to meet Chizuru_ Abigail thought happily, to then suddenly be interrupted by a grim thought _But wait… if she does appear… then that means that Hijikata will…_ she immediately blinked, her eyes widening in shock at her own thoughts. "Why did I just… Why was I thinking about Hijikata-san?" she asked out loud, not noticing there was someone standing at the frame of her door.

"Me? What happened with me?" A deep, male voice interrupted her monologue. Abigail's eyes widened in pure fear and shock, turning around almost instinctively.

"A-ah… H-Hijikata-san… I didn't notice you here." she said nervously, looking around him as if to make sure someone was standing behind him to make a lie about it. Noticing no one else was with him, she started growing anxious, her cheeks turning a bright red.

Hijikata looked at her coldly yet curiously _What's with this girl?_ He thought. "Everything alright? I can call Yamazaki if you are feeling sick."

"N-no it's alright! Don't worry about me, I'm fine I promise!" she exclaimed, making his eyes widen slightly in surprise. _Oh no! I'm making a fool of myself!_

"Well, if you insist, I was just making sure everything was ok. After that match with Saito I thought you might have been tired." he simply said, turning around and walking out of her room, closing the door shut behind him.

Abigail stood there frozen, her eyes wide in fear _What… why do I feel so… broken right now…_ she thought as her legs started failing her, making her fall on her knees. _Now I remember… he is my favorite character from the series… seeing him up so close has made me fall for him…. But… if Chizuru appears… I got no other choice but to stay out of his path…_ Sobbing silently, she watched as her own tears fell on the wooden floor. She quickly covered her mouth with one hand to avoid any noise to come out of it as she cried all alone in her room.

Hijikata, on the other hand, was standing silently on the other side of the sliding door, staring aimlessly at the blue sky _Abigail… such a mysterious girl._ He simply thought as he then walked away from her room towards the lunch room.

As he walked, Okita was walking towards him "Hijikata-san? What's with that face? Are you thinking about another poem perhaps?" Okita asked, smirking teasingly.

"Not now Souji… I got work to do." Hijikata replied, walking past the teasing man. Okita looked at him surprised.

 _I can't believe this! What made Hijikata act so serious all of a sudden?!_ He thought, looking at the direction Hijikata came from. "Wait a second…" thinking a bit harder, Okita then noticed the room at the end of the hall _Abigail?_

* * *

After around 15 minutes of continuous crying, Abigail had fallen asleep on the floor. Her hair spread around her like silver strings. Her cheeks and nose colored a soft pink, a clear proof that she was crying herself to sleep. It was a normal thing for her already, she had to learn to keep her emotions to herself in high school, for she used to be bullied a lot for being "too nice" towards others. She quickly drifted off to the land of dreams…

* * *

"Abigail… promise me you won't do anything stupid…" he mom pleaded as she walked out of the house in the middle of the night. Ignoring her mother, Abigail was now on her way to town, where she would meet with the same girl that 'accidentally' cut her arm with a pocket knife. Her school, though it was one of the most prestigious in academics, was still in the middle of a drug-dealing sector, so any type of white arms was secretly infiltrated by the students closest to the drug-dealer boss.

With only 18 years old, Abigail had developed a strong sense of independence, including dealing with these kind of affairs by herself. After a 5 minute walk she was already at the alley entrance. Looking around, the alley was dark, for no lights were allowed to be turned on by the drug-dealers of the specific sector. Glaring darkly at her destination, Abigail decided to walk inside, her eyes slowly turning from amethyst to light blue. Once she reached her destination, she found the other girl, standing besides a dangerous looking man with short hair and short beard.

"Are you the bitch who told my girlfriend to meet you here?" the man asked in a loud yet intimidating voice.

Abigail did not respond, just simply glared at the girl by his side.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Answer me or I will kill you right on the spot!" the man yelled, the girl smirking at Abigail, as if waiting for her to be scared by her boyfriend's words.

Abigail then turned her gaze towards the man "Kill me…?" she said darkly, barely audible.

"That's right bitch! For not answering me and for threatening my girl!" the man yelled yet again, to which Abigail simply smirked.

"Try it." she taunted, the man quickly pulling out his gun and shooting it at her. But Abigail dodged the bullet, and in a flash was standing in front of the man, slightly crouched down. The man's eyes widened in fear, almost popping out of his eye sockets as Abigail looked up at him with her gleaming, light blue eyes. Her eyes no longer looked human, her glare resembling how a predator looks at it's prey. She then smiled, "I said… try it." she repeated. Not giving the man a chance to respond or even move, Abigail pulled a kitchen knife out of her pocket and slashed the man in two, killing him on the spot.

As his blood covered her face, she turned to look at the girl, who was now on the floor, shaking and crying in fear "P-please… d-don't hurt me…" the girl pleaded. Abigail slowly walking to her.

Looking down at the girl with her demonic eyes, Abigail was slightly curious at what the girl was saying "Huuuh… now you are asking me to not hurt you? That will not be, suffer the same pain I suffered when you got cocky on me." she answered darkly, quickly pulling at the girl's arm, who started screaming. Slowly and carefully, Abigail drew the knife to the girl's skin, cutting through it ever so slowly. The girl screamed and thrashed around, making Abigail glare at her "Stay still or it won't be as perfect."

"It hurts! Stop it! It hurts!" the girl screamed as Abigail finished cutting through the girl's arm. Once finished, Abigail rolled her sleeves up to her shoulder, showing the girl her own arm. On Abgail's arm was the scar of a deep looking wound, a single line going across her arm horizontally. Abigail then smiled "Now we are the same, we got the exact same wound." she said, walking away from the girl and the alley. Almost getting out of the darkness, Abigail suddenly collapsed, panting harshly as her eyes turned back to normal. And as her vision faded away, she could see the silhouette of the first man she ever loved.

"Kino…" she said as her vision went black.

* * *

"Abigail?! Abigail!" someone yelled her name from afar, getting closer and louder as she slowly woke up.

"Abigail! Are you alright?!" it was none other than Harada, and beside him were Shinpachi and Heisuke, looking extremely worried.

"Harada-san… not so loud please…" she complained groggily, rubbing her eyes gently as she sat up. Yawning once she looked around her "What's wrong? Did someone steal Heisuke's food again…?"

To her words, the three men looked at each other, first in shock, then Heisuke and Shinpachi started laughing loudly. "I cannot believe her! That's the first thing she says?!" Shinpachi yelled, still laughing.

Harada then looked at her, his eyes full of worry "What were you doing on the floor?" he asked.

Abigail blinked, remembering what she had done earlier in the day "Oh… I was so tired after the match I had with Saito that I fell asleep before reaching the tatami." she answered.

Harada then smiled, petting her head "You silly girl…" Abigail looked at him, and after a few seconds she realized what he called her. _Girl?! How old does he think I am?!_ She thought furiously. Looking down, Abigail started shivering wildly, making Harada blink. "Uh… Abigail?" he asked.

She then looked up, glaring at him "GIRL?! HOW OLD DO YOU THINK I AM?!" she yelled, the three men jumping from the shock. Hugging each other, Shinpachi and Heisuke trembled in fear, Harada lifted his two hands, surprised.

"Uh… wait a second… how old **are** you?" he asked, then footsteps were heard towards them.

"Why don't you try guessing?!" she yelled annoyingly as the others arrived, looking at the show. She was now standing up, her hands balled into fists that rested on both side of her hips as she looked down at the still kneeling Harada.

Okita then looked down at Shinpachi and Heisuke "What happened?" It was Heisuke who answered.

"Sano-san called Abigail a silly girl and then she got mad." He looked at her scared for his life.

Harada scratched the back of his head "Uh… maybe… 18?"

Abigail's left eye twitched "Too young!" she yelled, crossing her arms in front of her chest "For your information… I am 21 years old." she said, turning her head to the left with her eyes closed.

Hijikata was walking towards where the group of captains were gathered, sighing in frustration. "What are you imbeciles doi-" he was cut off by the surprised yell of Shinpachi.

"You are 21?! You don't look that age to me!" Seeing the scene before him, Hijikata noticed they were talking about Abigail, who seemed to still be irritated for some reason. Hijikata then cleared his throat loudly as to make his prescence noticeable, everyone then looking at him, even Abigail, with surprised eyes.

"What in the world is going on here? Why are you all in a woman's room?" Hijikata said, glaring at them, annoyed.

It was Heisuke who started talking "Uhm… I don't know about the others, but Shinpachi and I asked Sano-san to look for Abigail for dinner, and when we noticed he was taking his time we came to check what was happening, apparently Abigail was fast asleep and wasn't waking up. Then when Sano-san called Abigail a girl she got mad."

Hijikata looked at Heisuke with a dumbfound expression, then looked at the others "And what about the others?"

Souji then spoke "We heard Abigail scream, and we decided to come here and check what was going on." he smirked "Then we saw both Heisuke and Shinpachi hugging themselves in fear as Abigail told them her age." He started chuckling mischievously at them.

"W-we were not!" Shinpachi yelled, Heisuke following suit.

"T-That's right!" Heisuke stuttered, his face flushed red in embarrassment.

Hijikata cleared his throat again, trying to catch their attention, but this time he was completely ignored. Abigail stood in the middle of the room, looking down. Her long bangs covering her eyes, her hands balled into fists, trembling slightly. Hijikata noticed, and was trying to silently signal her, when she suddenly looked at the ones making the fuss, annoyed.

She punched Heisuke, Shinpachi and Okita on their heads, the three of them groaning in pain and rubbing their heads "Aren't you three forgetting something?! This is **MY** room! If you want to cause a commotion take it outside my room!" she yelled, the ones outside had already moved out of the way, Abigail pushing the other three out of the room.

"H-Hey Abigail, not so hard." Okita complained.

"You were making quite a commotion, you deserve this." she simply said. Once they were out of her room, she looked back at it, noticing that Harada was already walking out as well.

"I think it's dinner time, right Abigail?" he said, smiling at her, as if telling her to leave them be. She quickly let go of them, nodding and smirking.

"Yep, don't want the food to go cold." she said as she closed the door of her room and walked with Harada, Hijikata and Saito towards the dinning room. The other three looking at them with wide and confused eyes.

* * *

After a quiet dinner, Abigail decided to take a quick bath. She came out wearing a long purple sleeping dress, loose yet marking her curves really well. She sat over the wooden floor in front of her room and looked up to the stars. "Kino… I'm sorry… I think… my heart already belongs to someone else… but I won't forget you." she whispered, her eyes shining their natural amethyst color as the moonlight illuminated her. Her glance was sad, but satisfied at the same time. _But if Chizuru appears…_ She blinked, her eyes widening at her thought, then she looked down "That's right… If she appears… it will be in vain, won't it…?" she said softly.

Tears formed in her eyes quickly _Why am I being this heartbroken? It has only been a month since I got here… it's too early to fall for anyone…_ she thought to herself, crying silently.

"Abi?" she heard a familiar voice in her head, and she immediately looked up.

It was Kino, standing right in front of her. "Abi, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm sorry Kino… my heart belongs to someone else… but it cannot be…" she sobbed softly. Kino walked towards her, it was then that she noticed something odd. "Kino… you're wearing white?" The tall, tanned young man was dressed in elegant white clothes, and he smiled at her.

"I died, remember? I came here to check one last time on you… I heard your cries." He said, his hand touching her right cheek gently. Her eyes widened in shock as she felt… nothing.

She looked up at him "Kino… I can't feel your warm hand… you really are gone, aren't you?" he nodded at her question. Hijikata was silently walking towards his room, when he noticed Abigail staring at the distance.

"Kino… what should I do? The one I have feelings for will soon meet someone that will stay with him forever…" she said, Hijikata's eyes widening _She's talking to herself?_

Kino then pulled his hand away from her cheek, signaling her to stand up "Abi, remember what I told you?" she looked at him, confused, as she stood up. "Whenever you're feeling lost, I told you to look at the stars right?"

Abigail nodded "Yes, I remember…" she said as she looked up at the sky. Kino then walked to her, giving her a hug she couldn't feel.

"Promise me, right here, under the stars, that you won't lose yourself. I cannot say anything about your situation right now, I am just a ghost trying to ease the pain in you, but promise me to stay yourself and look at the stars every time you are lost." at his words, Abigail started crying, nodding slightly.

"I promise… Kino." she said between sobs and tears, as she tried to hug him, ending up hugging herself. He then smiled and kissed her forehead gently.

"Thank you for those wonderful short years Abi, they were my best 3 years alive. And please, don't forget about me." he said as he walked back so she could see him. She looked up at him, noticing he had started to disappear, waving his hand. "Goodbye hun."

Her eyes widened, and she tried reaching for him "Kino wait!" but he had already disappeared completely, and she tripped over her feet, landing on her knees. Crying loudly, she pressed her forehead against the soft grass, her long, now loose hair covering her shoulders and face almost completely. Hijikata, unable to believe his eyes, rushed to her side, kneeling down close to her.

"Abigail." he said softly, making her gasp. Underneath her hair, her eyes widened _Why him? Out of all people… him!_ She thought as she lifted her face, looking at him in surprise. Her now messy hair fell all around her face and shoulders, reaching the ground. Tears still running down her red cheeks, she couldn't look away from the man she had developed feelings for. "Abigail… are you alright?" he asked softly, but clearly worried.

"H-Hijikata… san…" She said as she fainted in his arms. Hijikata was shocked, for he never thought the energetic woman would collapse like that. He then started shifting her so he could carry her to her room, when he touched her arm he noticed something strange. _She's burning up? But she doesn't seem in pain or close to catch a cold…_ he thought. He then carried her on his arms, seeing her sleep peacefully. Then another man appeared from the shadows, it was Saito.

"Vice commander…" Saito started, Hijikata meeting his eyes.

"Saito, call Yamazaki, she isn't sick but her temperature is abnormally high." he said, the captain simply nodded and walked away. Opening the door to her room and laying her down gently on the tatami, He heard footsteps coming their way. Saito and Yamazaki were at the door frame, waiting for their vice commander to give them instructions. Hijikata looked at them with his usual serious but concerned face "Yamazaki, I believe Saito let you know what's happening." at this, Yamazaki just nodded once.

"If you permit it, may I check on her, just to make sure?" Yamazaki asked courteously, bowing to his superior. Hijikata nodded.

"Yes, do what you must." saying this, Hijikata stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him and letting Yamazaki do his thing. Around 10 minutes had passed, Hijikata and Saito making some conversation while they wait for some news about the woman's well being.

"Vice-commander, I am curious about something…" Saito started in his quiet, serene voice.

Hijikata looked at him with only one eye open "Yes? What is it Saito?"

"Abigail… she's strong, physically strong, but when I was fighting with her I noticed something odd." Saito started, looking at the wooden floor.

"And what was that?" Hijikata asked.

"She was wavering, it seemed she was using the fight not just to train, but to keep her mind away from something that is haunting her." Saito lifted his gaze to the sky, his azure eyes now showing a bit of concern.

Hijikata, thinking it's the first time he had seen Saito show such concern over someone other than the Shinsengumi, smiled slightly _In such a short time she has made this impact on us_. He then remembered what he had seen before, a sad Abigail talking by herself as if someone was right in front of her. He raised his right hand, holding his chin in thought "Now that you mention it… I did see her talking as if someone was with her, before she collapsed I mean." Saito then looked at his vice-commander in question.

"'As if', vice-commander?" Saito asked, not understanding what Hijikata had meant with that.

Hijikata nodded "Yes, she was all alone, yet she spoke as if someone only she could see was right there listening to her."

Saito's eye widened in horror "You mean… she could probably see and talk to ghosts?"

"More or less." Hijikata said thoughtfully, then a certain line came into mind _"The one I have feelings for will soon meet someone that will stay with him forever…"_ is what she had said, and he blinked as soon as he noticed he had been thinking about that particular sentence. He frowned slightly, then the door was opened behind him. Yamazaki held a serious look on his face. "What is it Yamazaki?"

"Sir… you have to see this." he said, almost asking for them to rush inside. When they got inside her room, Yamazaki walked to her, looking at his vice-commander and the captain by his side "How long has it been since she arrived?" he asked. Both Hijikata and Saito looked at each other, then Hijikata looked at Yamazaki with a grim face.

"Around a month, why?" Hijikata asked _I have a bad feeling about this…_ he thought.

"If I remember correctly, Abigail had a big piece of glass stabbing her shoulder, and as far as I recall, it was a pretty deep wound, enough to make her unable to move her arm for about a month." Yamazaki started.

"Where are you getting with this?" Hijikata asked.

"Well…" Yamazaki said, pulling the sleeve on her left shoulder and revealing her skin. Hijikata and Saito's eyes widened in horror. The wound that was supposed to still be healing was completely gone, as if it never happened.

"A Fury?" Saito asked, and Yamazaki shook his head.

"Not exactly, from my experience with Furies, they have cold skin, or regular body temperature, in her case, I checked her temperature, which is inexplicably higher than that of a normal human, for not having a fever or being sick that is." Yamazaki looked at Hijikata "Vice-commander, I had never seen something like this before, a human that has the Fury's abilities, yet it's not a Fury."

"I agree, this is certainly strange, we will ask her tomorrow when she wakes up, for now, I think it's best we let her sleep." Hijikata said, looking at the other two "This will stay between us, no one else is to know of this, understood?"

"Yes sir." the other two responded in unison, then they walked out of her room, Hijikata being the last one heading out. He stood at the doorframe and looked back to the sleeping Abigail.

"I heard you promise something earlier tonight… now I promise to keep this secret of yours." And with that, he got out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving only but darkness.


	5. Chapter 5: Breaking point

**Chapter 5: Breaking point**

It was now April, 1864, three months after Abigail had joined the Shinsengumi. Practicing almost daily, she had been allowed to patrol with the captains. This time, she had to go on night patrol around the city of Kyoto. Wearing black leggings, a long sleeved black shirt and over the knee black boots was the only way they had allowed her to go, for she had to at least look like a ninja, with the given chest armor to protect herself from any danger. She was desperate tonight, for Hijikata had said to her that two Shinsengumi Furies had gone berserk _. So this is it… tonight Chizuru joins the Shinsengumi_ … she thought as she looked up at the sky.

Her long silver hair was tied in a high ponytail, her bangs perfectly side swept to the left, barely covering her left eye. She then looked at her arms, she was holding a light blue haori, symbol of a true member of the Shinsengumi, and she smiled. Saito and Okita then appeared from the darkness "Hey Abigail, looking as serious as ever while in duty." Okita smirked, wearing the light blue haori as well as Saito.

"Is something bothering you?" Saito asked, and Abigail shook her head.

"It's nothing, let's just be done with this… it's a full moon and I get really grumpy." she answered, moving before them. She then tossed her haori over her, putting it on with ease. She had fixed it so it would fit her figure and make it easier to move. She looked at both men, her eyes glimmering in their amethyst tone, both Okita and Saito nodded and headed through Kyoto in search of the rampant Furies.

The dashed through the alleys, and then at some point they had decided to separate to hasten the search. Abigail then heard a scream, a male scream, and she climbed up a building, jumping from roof to roof silently to the direction the scream came from. Abigail then spotted the two Furies, jumping down from the nearest roof and unsheathing a ninjato sword she had bought after earning some money from her rounds. _Pierce the heart…_ she thought, her eyes turning crystal blue as she pierced through the Fury's heart. The Fury screamed, the dead body quickly falling on the ground as soon as Abigail pulled her ninjato back "Worthless trash…" she said darkly, hearing another Fury scream.

It was none other than Saito, pulling out his katana, and with a swift spin and crescent swing he cleaned the blood off it. Abigail smirked, resting the blunt side of the ninjato over her right shoulder as her eyes quickly turned amethyst again. "Nice one Saito." she said, the indigo haired man looking at her seriously.

Right when Saito was about to answer her, Okita appeared from behind Abigail "Aw man… you guys were too fast, I wanted to have the fun all to myself." Abigail looked at him in a serious way.

"Well, you are too slow in the race." she teased, Okita smirking with her. Walking towards Saito, he looked at a narrow alley.

"You left one Saito, you should've let the Furies finish him." he said, to which Saito's eye twitched slightly.

"Our job is to protect the civilians, not kill them, Souji." Saito said, and Abigail walked to their side. Her long hair waved graciously as she walked, making Saito turn his gaze towards her.

"Then, what do you suggest we do?" she asked, looking at the boy in question. Abigail's eyes widened softly, looking at the chocolate haired and chocolate eyed girl in front of her _It's Chizuru…_ she thought. Without making a sound, Hijikata suddenly appeared, unsheathing his katana and pointing it out at the boy.

"Try to escape, and I will kill you…" he said darkly, and then it started to snow. Then the boy fainted, Abigail sighed _As expected._ She then looked up at the night sky, still hearing what her comrades were saying _It's snowing, it's so pretty._

"Look at what you did Hijikata-san, you scared him so bad he passed out." Okita joked.

"What should we do with the boy vice-commander?" Saito asked.

"We take him with us, and wait until he wakes up." Hijikata said, turning away from them. Abigail turned away from them hastily, closing her eyes in irritation.

"I'm out of here… see you at headquarters." she said, jumping over the roof and leaving the scene. The three men looked as she left with different expressions, Saito looked at her with a well hidden worried expression, Okita looked with a confused one and Hijikata just merely glanced _What's the matter with her?_ Hijikata thought.

"Vice-commander, what should we do with the bodies?" Saito asked, snapping Hijikata from his thoughts. Hijikata looked at the bodies coldly, then closed his eyes and turned around.

"Just take the haoris off, let the local security deal with the rest for now." he simply said and walked away.

* * *

At headquarters, Abigail just simply shut herself in her room without answering to anyone. Harada, Heisuke and Shinpachi stood in front of her door, calling out to her. "Abigail c'mon! you have been there for an hour!" Heisuke screamed from outside the room.

"Yeah Abigail, I think it's time for you to come out and eat with us as well." Shinpachi yelled as well. Harada then hushed them, looking at the door and putting his left hand on it gently.

"Abigail? Did something happen?" Harada asked, at that same time, Hijikata was passing through, hearing all the commotion. When Hijikata saw the three, he wanted to asked what was happening, but decided to silently watch from afar. "Ever since you got back we saw you irritated, is something the matter?" as soon as he finished his question, the door flung open. Abigail ran to Harada's arms, hugging him tightly.

Crying softly, Abigail's eyes were closed tight, tears running down her now red cheeks. Both Heisuke and Shinpachi looked at both of them surprised, and just when they had decided to reach for her, Harada glanced at them, shaking his head. The other two decided to leave, leaving Abigail in Harada's care, seeing Hijikata midway. They both yelped, but Hijikata signaled them to keep quiet, watching what was happening with Abigail.

"Harada-san! I-I can't stay any longer!" she sobbed, holding him tightly. "I won't bear to see him with someone else…! I… I have fallen in love…. With someone I knew from the beginning was unreachable…" she kept crying, Harada caressing her hair softly.

"Abigail… wait a minute you're going too fast… what exactly are you talking about?" he said, pushing her slightly so that she could look at him, her bangs were messy, covering parts of her face. Harada brushed them gently to the side, now able to see both her eyes. "Explain to me, what do you mean?" he said softly, and she slowly calmed down.

"Starting tonight… someone will stay at the Shinsengumi headquarters… and that someone will be forever by Hijikata-san's side…" Abigail said, Harada's eyes widening in surprise. Heisuke, Shinpachi and Hijikata's eyes as well.

Hijikata looked at the scene _By my side?_ He thought, not looking away from the woman that had captivated almost all the captains. Just when Hijikata was about to walk to them, her was called quietly. "Vice-commander, the boy has woken up." Saito reported, waiting for a response. Hijikata looked at him as if he had forgotten about the boy, then answered.

"Oh, right, bring him to the meeting room, and make sure to call everybody, even Abigail." Hijikata ordered, making his way back first.

Shinpachi, Heisuke and Saito stared as Hijikata made his way to the meeting room. It was then that Saito looked at the scene on the other side, his eyes narrowing in concern. "Why is Abigail crying?" Saito asked, the other two looking at him.

"It seems someone will be staying here that will be by Hijikata-san's side forever, and that has made her sad." Shinpachi said, a grim expression on his face. Saito's eyes closed as he walked towards both of them.

 _I guess this could be my chance…_ he thought. Abigail and Harada looked at him in surprise, Abigail quickly wiping away her tears with her sleeve, for she had not changed from her combat attire yet. "The vice-commander has called everyone to the meeting room…" he then looked at Abigail, lifting his right hand and gently wiping a last tear from her cheek "Even you Abigail." he said softly. She looked at him in shock, her amethyst eyes staring straight at his azure ones, Saito nodded once. Then they made their way to the meeting room.

Once there, they saw Kondou, Sannan and Hijikata already sitting at the front of the room, Heisuke and Shinpachi sitting at the back, and Okita sitting besides the door. Harada, Saito and Abigail walked in, sitting in their respective spots, Saito by Okita's side, Harada besides Heisuke and Shinpachi, and Abigail on the other side of the room, her legs together towards her right.

After a little while, the door opened, Inoue walked in, followed by the young "boy" that witnessed the Furies, who had his hands tied up with a rope. Abigail's heart started beating fast, her eyes looking at the "boy" in both pain and anger _Why do I feel so… jealous…_ Saito looked at Abigail from the other side, silently. They started asking the "boy" about what he had seen, denying it twice, but when Okita started asking, he couldn't help but promise to keep quiet about it. Abigail already knew what was going happen, so she had decided to rush things.

Standing up and putting a hand on her hip, she glanced at the three higher in command, specifically at Hijikata. "Look, can't you just let the girl breathe, she's scared to death and you are not making it better you know?" she said, her amethyst eyes piercing through Hijikata's darker purple ones.

"Wait a minute… a girl?!" Kondou exclaimed, the trio looking at the girl in shock.

"So you are Yukimura Kodou's daughter, right?" Sannan asked, and the girl looked at him.

"Y-yes, I am Yukimura Chizuru. You know my father?" she asked shyly yet desperately.

"It's very hard for a woman to travel, so you had to dress as a man to hasten your search." Hijikata said, holding his chin in thought.

"Actually, we are also searching for your father." Sannan answered. Chizuru's eyes widened, and then they discussed what was to happen to her. After long minutes of discussion, it was decided Chizuru was going to stay, yet she was to remain dressed as a man. To avoid conflicts, they had thought to make her share a room with Abigail, but seeing Chizuru was still going to be dressed as a man was goin to complicate things more, so in the end, Chizuru was granted a room of her own, close to Abigail's room.

Once the meeting was over, Abigail was the first one to head out, leaving everyone in the room thoughtful. _So… Chizuru's finally here huh…_ she thought as she headed to her room, but was stopped in her tracks. "Abigail?" she immediately recognized that voice, and she turned around to confirm the owner of it, it was Hijikata.

"H-Hijikata-san…" she whispered, but then decided to regain herself "May I help you with something?" she asked, coming out as a slight complaint. _Shit… he's gonna notice._ She thought. Hijikata walked closer to her, stopping at just a few inches.

"Did you know? That she was a woman I mean." he asked, looking straight at her eyes, the darker shade of purple almost piercing her crystalline toned ones. Abigail then looked at the floor, her bangs covering her face. All she did was nod once, slightly. Hijikata then moved his hand to grab her chin softly, making her look at him. "Why didn't you mention it then?" he looked at her in what she thought was… pain?

"I cannot interfere in this story, though I know for a fact I won't go back to my world, I still cannot mess with the course of things." she answered, pulling away from him gently. "It's getting late… I should go get some rest." she bowed slightly and turned around, leaving Hijikata behind as he watched her go. When she was gone he looked at his hand in thought _Abigail… what is in that strange mind of yours?_ He then took off, walking back to his own room.

* * *

Days had gone by since Chizuru was allowed to stay protected by the Shinsengumi until she found her father. Abigail avoided contact with her, for her feelings would just get in the way, and soon after she started avoiding direct contact with Hijikata as well. She was out training with her ninjato yet again, it had been the fourth consecutive day she had been training from early morning until lunch time. Saito and Okita were passing by, both noticing how reckless her swings were.

"Geez, that's the fourth day in a row, not even I would practice that much." Okita said, looking at her curiously "She seems annoyed by something…" he watched her silently as Saito walked to her hastily, once touching the ground he started running at her.

Hearing his steps, Abigail turned to look at him in shock, pulling her ninjato in front of her to block his own attack just at the right time. Okita watched in surprise, he never thought Saito would just suddenly spar with someone. Standing straight and holding his katana down, Saito looked at Abigail, who had taken a few steps back to look at him. "Whatever it is that is clouding both your blade and your mind, let it out." at his words, both Abigail and Okita looked surprised. She tightened the grip on her sword, trembling lightly.

"What makes you think I'm clouded?" she asked defensively, and Saito just dashed towards her. Swinging his sword and aiming for her neck, he just looked at her with his cold, azure eyes. Her eyes widened, throwing herself backwards and barely escaping the blade. She then glared at Saito, panting slightly, her neck suddenly started bleeding. Abigail touched her neck in fear, looking at her now bloodied hand _What? That actually got me?!_ She thought, and just as she had snapped from her daze, Saito was already on her, pushing her away with his upper body.

She fell on the ground, rolling two times and stopping face-down. She started getting up, coughing harshly. "Hey, Saito! That's enough man!" Okita yelled, and just as he yelled, Hijikata, Heisuke and Harada appeared a few meters away from them, watching the fight from afar. Harada and Heisuke both looked at what was happening in horror, Hijikata glaring at the even as they walked closer.

Pointing his katana at her, he repeated "Let it out Abigail…" he said coldly, making her glare at him. She stood up, her face now all scratched from the fall, her neck still slightly bleeding. Noticing this, Harada then yelled at Saito.

"Saito! What have you done to Abigail?!" he was about to run to her aid, when Hijikata stopped him.

"Harada wait… look at Abigail." he simply said, looking intently at the silver-haired woman lifting her ninjato. Glaring at Saito and still panting, Abigail simply dashed to him, thrusting her sword towards Saito's neck. He dodged it with ease, her eyes widening and looking to her left side as he grabbed her wrist, turning her arm over her shoulder to her back. Abigail moaned loudly in pain, looking back to meet Saito's gaze, who was completely serious.

"I told you to let it out, there is something bothering your mind, and it's not recent either." he said, twisting her arm a bit more. She groaned, closing her eyes tightly.

"W-what… do you mean…?" she stuttered, whispering to him and only him. His eyes only narrowed.

"Ever since we that night with the Fury incident, your mind has been elsewhere, not just that, you have been training four consecutive days all morning until lunch time. Do you really think you can help us if you are exhausted?" Abigail's eyes widened, her body losing tension. Saito let go of her arm, and she almost immediately fell on her knees, shivering slightly. Saito, completely taken with his guard down, held Abigail by her arms. She cried softly, looking at him straight in the eye.

"Saito… I'm sorry…" she whispered, his eyes widening and his cheeks turning pink. He then softened his gaze, and they both heard people running to them. When Abigail looked up, it was Harada and Heisuke, Okita and Hijikata simply walking. She looked at Hijikata with a pained expression, but nobody except for him and Saito had noticed.

"Abigail! You alright?!" Harada asked loudly, Abigail flinching at his volume.

"N-not so loud…" she complained, looking at him "I'm fine, just a few scratches." she answered, smiling gently. She then stood up, groaning a bit in pain and holding the arm Saito had twisted before "I'm going to my room to look for my stuff and take a bath, see you guys at lunch." she said, walking to her room and leaving the others behind. Saito then stood up straight, Okita walking to his side, smirking.

"Wow Hajime-kun, you sure did punish her quite the bit." he teased, Saito simply closing his visible eye. Hijikata then glanced at Saito, slightly angered _What exactly motivated Saito to do that to her?_

"Not even a punishment, I was just trying to help her let off some steam." Saito said softly, turning away and walking towards the kitchen. Okita looked at him, amused, then at Hijikata.

"Careful Hijikata-san, you might lose her." Okita said darkly, chuckling as he walked after Saito. Hijikata turned, looking as both of them left in shock, his eyes then narrowed, looking at Abigail's room direction _Lose her?_

In her room, Abigail scanned around for some of her remaining clean clothes "Shit… all I have is my burgundy summer dress… I will be scolded for sure…" she then glanced at the other corner of the room, a soft green simple kimono hanging on a wooden stand. Abigail sighed, walking to the kimono that seemed a bit too big for her "I can fix this… I think." she said, taking the kimono and her sewing kit and started working. After fixing the kimono, she went to the isolated bath, cleaned herself and got dressed.

The long sleeves of the kimono still intact, yet she had decided to focus on how tight it was going to be. She put it on, placing a black corset with a floral design over it. A black lily design was sewn at the very tip of the outer layer of the skirt. Her hair was styled in a messy up-do, revealing the beginning of a big tattoo. She then walked out of the bath, heading to her room to drop off the dirty clothes, then heading to the lunch room.

Once she opened the door, everyone in the room stared at her in awe, even Chizuru, who had been allowed to eat with everybody else. Abigail looked at them in confusion "What is it? Do I have something on my face?" she asked as she walked inside, closing the door.

"Wow Abigail, since when do you dress so fancy?" Okita sked, smirking.

"Save it lover boy, it was the only clean thing I could found. A lot has happened so I forgot to do some laundry." she answered, sitting by Saito's side. Saito looked at her, blushing slightly, and Abigail looked at him. "Is something the matter, Saito?" He immediately cleared his throat, and kept on eating.

"N-nothing, it suits you perfectly. Though may I ask… did you also fix this kimono to fit you?" he asked before taking a bite of rice. Abigail nodded.

"Yeah, even while being the smallest size you guys had was really big for me." she smiled, Saito eating pleasantly by her side as she started doing the same. Hijikata glanced at them, specifically at Saito, then continued his meal. Nobody in the room seemed to had noticed this action, except for Harada, who looked at Hijikata with hidden and silent surprise. _Hijikata-san… don't tell me you have also fallen…_ he thought, concentrating on his food again.

During lunch time, Heisuke and Shinpachi had made a fuss, for Shinpachi has stolen a piece of fish from the younger captain. Abigail decided she had enough and smacked them both on the head, silencing them as all the other starting laughing, everyone except for Hijikata, who was silent all the while, watching over the long haired woman that was so beaten down a few minutes ago. They finished lunch, and everyone had cleaned up and went to do their respective jobs.

It was Abigail's turn to patrol, along with Saito and Okita. Since she was wearing the kimono, she was sure this time she wouldn't be having any unwanted attention. Her up-do was sloppy, and it was starting to fall slightly, giving it a sexy vibe. Her bangs, side swept to the left as always, were as messy as the rest of her hair, some long locks falling here and there. Both men were waiting for her, she was looking for her ninjato sword "Took you long enough." Okita teased, and Abigail simply smirked.

"I decided to walk, I wasted enough energy on the morning." she said, glancing softly at Saito, then walking past both men. Saito kept looking at her, wondering, and started walking after her, followed by Okita.

The streets of Kyoto were as calm as she was used to, the sky painted blue with the sun at it's highest. She looked all around her, alert to anything suspicious. The people paid no mind to her, for they were used to see a woman with the Shinsengumi haori patrolling. Abigail then caught a strange smell, and she looked behind her _Lavender? In this place?_ She thought, standing still while looking around, the captains kept walking without noticing her absence.

She then saw a lilac colored smoke coming from one of the business buildings, and walked unconsciously to it. She opened the door, peeking inside "Hello? Anybody here?" she asked, walking inside. The building was darker than usual inside, the smoke blurring her line of sight.

Meanwhile, Saito looked behind him, noticing someone was gone, and stopped abruptly. Okita noticed, looking at Saito with a confused gaze "Something the matter Hajime-kun?" he asked.

"Abigail isn't with us." he said thoughtfully, Okita now looking at the road behind them with glaring eyes. They looked at each other, nodding once, and decided to run back after ordering their units to go back for the day.

"So, what caught our little fox's eyes this time?" Okita joked.

"This is actually the first time she separates from us Souji." Saito said coldly.

Okita laughed "I know! I know! Just curious, it must be something real good if it distracted her from her duties." he said, looking at the direction they were running to.

On Abigail's side, she started inspecting the rooms, noticing the smell was getting stronger. She covered her mouth and nose with the long sleeve, squinting her eyes to get a better view. _Damn, with this level of smoke inside, it's hard to search…_ she thought, opening the door of the closest room she could find. She peeked inside and saw two big silhouettes, she then opened the door abruptly, glaring at what seemed to be two men. "You there, identify yourselves!" she yelled.

One of the silhouettes started moving slowly towards her, revealing now a blonde man with red eyes. Her eyes widened and she took a step back _His aura… it's so oppressive._ The man walked to her, stopping a few inches from her, and smirked. "A woman, telling me what to do?" Abigail then glared at him.

"What? You got a problem with that?" she asked, looking at the man with serious eyes. The man then smiled, and Abigail felt a chill down her spine _It's Kazama… He's intimidating when he smiles._ Just then, the man appeared in a flash right in front of her, grabbing her chin softly and making her look up at him.

"You got some backbone woman, for being a Shinsengumi that is." his crimson eyes bore into her amethyst ones, which looked at him in shock and fear. "My name is Kazama Chikage, don't forget it." and with that, the man suddenly appeared standing at the frame of the window, smiling at her. Then Kazama jumped out the window, leaving Abigail frozen in the room. _He's way worse than I imagined… at least back home he was just an anime character… but now… I can actually_ _ **feel**_ _his intent to kill._ It had been so long that Abigail had forgotten how death felt around her, she herself had decided to forget, and it had haunted her to this world as well.

Outside, Both Saito and Okita were running, and right in front of them landed the blond man called Kazama. He looked at both men, who stopped a few feet away from him, and smirked "You might want to check on your friend inside, she seemed… afraid." Kazama turned away, walking down the road and disappearing at the distance. Saito and Okita looked at themselves, then rushed inside, going to the room where the woman stood, her hair now completely loose, reaching the back of her knees.

They both walked to her, Saito was the one speaking "Abigail?" he asked, and she flinched lightly, turning to them. What both men then saw froze them, Okita's eyes widening in shock. It was all about her eyes, shining in a crystal blue instead of the clear amethyst.

"Oh… guys… you're here… I… felt death's aura… I think I've forgotten how it was… to be threatened by somebody else…" she said slowly. Saito's eyes narrowed, he could see how she was breaking apart _Whatever she witnessed, it had to do with that man…_ he thought, walking to her and gently putting a hand over her shoulder.

"Abigail, let's go home for today, I think it has been a harsh day for you." Saito looked at her, and at how her gaze started to soften, her eyes turning back to their natural amethyst color. He nodded once, and she smiled slightly, nodding as well.

"Yeah… let's go back home…" and then she looked at Okita, whose eyes widened as his cheeks turned a slight pink. _W-wait a minute? Why am I suddenly so embarrassed?_ Okita thought, turning away quickly, clearing his throat.

"Yeah sure, though I didn't get to do any killing today." he joked, walking out of the room first, followed by Saito and Abigail. It was afternoon, the sky painted red and orange as the sun started setting, the three making their way to their home.


	6. Chapter 6: Tears and Fire

**Chapter 6: Tears and Fire**

Ever since her meeting with Kazama, Abigail had been most of the time distracted from her duties. _I never expected Kazama to actually be that intimidating… most of the Shinsengumi guys have been like I had expected._ She thought as she walked through the compound aimlessly, even forgetting what she was going to look for. She then shook her head "I need some air!" she yelled, walking towards the exit of the headquarters.

When she was about to walk out of the gate, a male voice stopped her in her tracks "And just where do you think you're going?" Abigail turned around, looking at the owner of the voice and narrowing her eyes, it was Hijikata.

"I need some fresh air, why?" she asked. Abigail had noticed that Hijikata was nagging her more than usual, and she was starting to get annoyed.

"Dressed like that again?" he asked, scanning her from head to toe. Abigail looked at herself, she was wearing long blue jeans, a grey crop top with long sleeves, and grey ankle boots. She then looked at him as if she was wearing something completely normal.

"Yeah, why? The people in town have seen me dressed like this before, they are used to it." she said, turning around from him and walking forward. She then felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked over it, her eyes narrowed. Hijikata was now glaring at her.

"I am not sure what I have done, but I would at least want to know." he said calmly, Abigail's eyes widening slightly. She then turned away from him, looking at the ground in pain. _Please Hijikata-san… just let me be so that I can get over you…_ she thought.

"You don't have to worry about me, I'm running a bit late though…" she said lowly, only Hijikata could hear her. He sighed, letting go of her shoulder and turning around.

"Fine then, don't take too long." he simply said, walking away without looking back at her. Abigail's eyes widened as she stood that the front gate. She then dashed outside, her eyes closed tightly as she cried. Running, she just got as far away from the headquarters as she could _Why… why me…? First I lose Kino… and now I cannot be with Hijikata…_ she just kept on running, not paying attention to where she was going.

After a long time running, she found herself in the nearby forest. Looking around worriedly, she then decided to rest by a tree, panting "I'm lost… just my luck…" she sighed, trying to catch her breath. She then heard footsteps, sounding closer and closer. Her eyes widened as she tried to get her ninjato, only to notice she didn't have it on her _Shit! I forgot I was supposed to go shopping so I didn't bring my sword._ She thought, and just then was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Well if it isn't the Shinsengumi woman…" she turned to look at the owner of the voice.

"Kazama…" she said softly, eyes wide. Kazama then smirked, looking down at her in curiosity.

"Your attire seems… different." he said, walking closer to her. Abigail shrunk back, glaring at him.

"This is how I normally dress, last time was just because most of my clothes were dirty." she explained quickly, seeing how Kazama's grin turned into a creepy smile.

"That sounds interesting…" he said as he knelt right in front of her, holding her chin softly. His eyes then slightly widened, moving his head close to her neck, he started sniffing silently. As soon as she felt his hot breath on her neck, Abigail's cheeks turned pink, and she pushed him harshly.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" she asked, holding her neck protectively. Kazama chuckled.

"Interesting… I didn't notice before but, you have a sweet scent… like… peaches, perhaps." he said, holding her wrist tightly and pulling her up, making her stand. He pulled her close, pressing his body against hers "Are you perhaps… a demon?" At his question, Abigail's eyes widened.

 _He noticed?! Just by my scent?!_ She thought in horror, and Kazama smiled at her reaction.

"My, my… what will the Shinsengumi think when they find out you have been hiding such an important detail from them." he said darkly. Abigail then stood frozen _T-that's right… I haven't told them…_ she then looked away from Kazama in pain. "I bet they will just kick you out." Kazama started "So why not make it easier and you come with me? You could make a fine wife." Abigail then looked at him, enraged, and pushed him harshly.

"Don't joke with me… if I leave the Shinsengumi, it will be to live completely alone, I will never accept your proposal." Abigail glared at Kazama, her eyes started turning crystal blue.

"There they are… the eyes of a demon." Kazama simply smiled, then turned around. "I promise you I will take you with me…" and with those words, Kazama disappeared, leaving Abigail completely alone in the forest.

* * *

The sun was already setting, the captains were all gathered at the meeting room, looking desperate. Hijikata had his arms crossed in front of his chest, his eyes closed in frustration. _How did this happen… and I was the last one who saw her…_ he thought. Saito then looked at Hijikata.

"Excuse me vice-commander… but… weren't you the one who saw her off this morning?" Saito asked, and Hijikata nodded.

"What happened?" Harada asked, his eyes glaring at Hijikata full of worry. Hijikata didn't respond, and just when Harada was about to ask, Yamazaki opened the door.

He looked around "It seems you have all noticed Abigail is missing. I saw her in the forest on my way back." he said, Saito and Harada standing up and walking out of the meeting room quickly. Hijikata looked at Yamazaki, and Yamazaki nodded, Hijikata stood up, looking at the others.

"Saito, Harada and I will go get Abigail, the rest of you, please wait here." Hijikata said, walking out of the room as well. The others looked at the three in thought, Okita glancing at the door.

At the forest, Abigail was resting against a tree, her hair spread around her. After what Kazama had said, she had decided to head back and get her stuff, but she had forgotten she was completely lost. _"I bet they will just kick you out."_ his words echoed in her head, and she covered her ears, trying to shut him up. _They won't!_ she thought, her hair started lighting up in a light blue fire and burning the grass around her. Abigail gasped, looking at what she had just done in shock "N-no…" she hugged herself as she closed her eyes tightly.

The three men ran towards the forest when they noticed smoke coming out of it. "Abigail!" Harada exclaimed.

She looked around her "S-stop! Please!" she yelled, trying to put out the fire, but only lighting it up more. She gasped, watching as her fire spread around the forest. Abigail fell on her knees, crying "I'm… I'm a monster…" she said, hugging herself tightly, she then turned her head up, eyes tightly shut "I'M A MONSTER!" she screamed.

Hearing her loud scream, Saito, Hijikata and Harada stopped, their eyes wide in shock, then they looked at each other, running to the direction the scream came from. A wall of fire stopped them in their tracks, then Harada's eyes widened "There she is!" he yelled, both Hijikata and Saito following Harada's finger line of sight. Abigail was laying on the ground unconscious, her face showing a pained expression. Hijikata ran to her without a second thought, getting burned on his arms and legs, mostly his legs, once he got close to her, he dropped himself on his knees and picked her up softly, shaking her slightly.

"Abigail… Abigail! Open your eyes!" he yelled only to her. Hearing his voice, she opened her eyes, now gleaming crystal blue as tears ran down her cheeks.

"H-Hijikata-san… I-I'm sorry…" she said, and he shook his head, looking at her with saddened eyes.

"No, I should be the one apologizing." he said, only to feel Abigail's head move sideways softly.

"I… I am the one… responsible for the fire… I'm sorry I didn't… tell you before…" she said, and with that, her eyes closed once more, her body going completely limp on his arms. Hijikata's eyes widened as he tried to shake her a bit more.

"Abigail? Abigail?!" just then, Harada and Saito ran to them. Saito looked at her with tortured eyes, then he looked at Hijikata, who looked at her in fear.

"Vice-commander… is it actually true then… could she be… a Fury?" Saito asked, Harada looking at him in shock.

"What?!" he yelled "Don't mess around! She couldn't possibly be a Fury!"

Hijikata then shook his head "As far as we know… Furies do not create fire." he said, looking at both men. Right when they were about to move, Kazama appeared in front of them, chuckling. The three readied themselves, Saito recognizing the man automatically.

"You… you're the one who caused Abigail's distress…" Saito said calmly, glaring at the man in front of them. The man just kept chuckling.

"My name is Kazama Chikage, and that woman you have in your arms… she has been deceiving you all this time." he said, making Hijikata look at the unconscious Abigail for a brief moment, then glaring at Kazama.

"What in hell do you mean by that?" Hijikata spit his words. When the man noticed, he grinned.

"That woman, she's a demon." when the three heard those words coming from Kazama's mouth, they froze, looking at Abigail. The first one to react was Harada.

"You take us for fools?! How could we ever believe Abigail is a demon?!" Kazama then smiled widely.

"If you do not believe me… try harming her… her wounds should heal quicker than you've ever seen." with those words, Kazama disappeared, leaving the group alone. Hijikata and Saito looked at each other in concern, Harada still yelling. Saito then touched Harada's shoulder.

"Harada, calm down… there is something we actually know…" Saito said, looking at Hijikata, who nodded once. Saito walked to them, and grabbed Abigail's face gently, turning her head to the left so that Harada could see her neck. Not a single scar was marked in her skin, and Harada's eyes widened.

"I-it can't be… then… her shoulder…" Hijikata then stood up, carrying Abigail.

"Let's go back first, we will explain this to you calmly over there." he said, the fire had been mostly put out, making it easy to walk out of the forest. Abigail's face was pale, Hijikata looking down at her as the remaining tears ran down her cheeks _Abigail… if only I had noticed earlier…_ he thought, going back to the Shinsengumi headquarters.

* * *

Back at the headquarters, Hijikata, Harada and Saito had been talking on their own in a silent room right beside Abigail's room. "Hijikata-san, why didn't you mention anything to me? I was the one who brought her here in the first place." Hijikata sighed.

"I know, but I didn't really say much cause I was just suspecting it, I had no actual evidence until now. Saito and I thought she may have been a Fury, but Saito mentioned something rather interesting about her." he started saying.

"And what might that be?" Harada immediately asked, glaring at both men with amber eyes.

Saito then started talking "Her eyes turn a crystal blue instead of red, and her hair, though already almost white, doesn't change color." Harada looked at Saito in surprise.

"Abigail also said she was the cause of the fire… but from what part of her body it started?" Hijikata then asked, the other two shaking their heads. "In any case… we will need to talk to her about this when she wakes up." just when he finished saying that, the door slid open, Abigail standing at the doorframe, looking at the three of them with pained eyes.

"There will be no need to wait." she said, walking into the room and closing the door behind her. She sat in front of the three men, looking at the floor. "I'm sorry I didn-"

"There is no need to apologize, you must've had your reasons to stay silent." Hijikata interrupted her quickly, looking at her with serious eyes. Abigail could not believe her ears, Hijikata was being even more comprehensive than before. Looking from Hijikata to Saito and from Saito to Harada, she fully understood they already knew the truth about her. She then looked straight at Hijikata's eyes.

"Then at least let me explain a bit more about me and how I'm like this." her eyes now serious, Hijikata nodded in approval.

Abigail then started explaining cautiously "I was born in England, but I am originally Japanese. My family is originally from an ancient line of youkai, specifically the fox youkai. My family though, was exterminated by this time's oni, only one of our members surviving the invasion, a female called Yuuki, who escaped to England in search of safety. Ever since her, all women are born with the youkai powers, including my mother, however, depending on how close we are to the spiritual world, out powers develop faster and stronger. In my mother's case, all she has is the instant regeneration and long lifespan, in my case, I have even started developing fox characteristics such as the fire, ears and tail, these however do not come out at will since I have never trained for such thing." The three men were both amazed and curious, paying close attention to what the young woman had to say.

Abigail simply continued her story "I have lived a normal human live up until now, and this is the first time in years that I have caused such a big fire…" Abigail looked down at her lap for a second, looking for any other details that had to be said at the moment. It was then that her thoughts were interrupted by Hijikata's question.

"Do you also regenerate instantly?" looking straight at her eyes, she looked up to meet his, and nodded.

"I do, I also have a longer lifespan than you." she answered, looking at them as if it was something completely normal. The three men looked at her with serious eyes, clearly trying to comprehend all her story. Hijikata was the one to speak this time.

"Saito, Harada. I need a moment alone with Abigail, I have a personal question to ask her." hearing those words, Harada's eyes widened for a few seconds, then he nodded, standing up and walking to the door, opening it silently as Saito stood up, walking towards the door as well. Saito glanced at Hijikata briefly, turning around and walking out of the room as he closed the door behind him. _He's… planning to tell her._

Abigail looked straight at Hijikata, growing more and more nervous as the minutes went by. _"I bet they will just kick you out."_ she thought, her eyes widening in horror, Kazama's words had pierced her heart, and she wasn't properly prepared to hear those words. She didn't want to admit it, but she had grown fond of the Shinsengumi, she had started caring deeply for the men that once belonged only inside the screen of her phone _I don't want to leave…!_ She thought, closing her eyes tightly to prevent the tears from falling.

"Abigail?" Hijikata's voice snapped her from her wild thoughts as tears formed in her light amethyst eyes. She hadn't noticed that Hijikata had moved closer to her, and that his hand was now wiping away some tears that had escaped, she looked at him in full surprise, not believing what he was doing.

"H-Hijikata… san…?" she asked, and he just quietly continued wiping away her tears gently, as if in a trance. Just then, he opened his mouth gently as he started to talk…

* * *

 _ **Omg I am so sorry this chapter came out late! With the internet constantly crashing, my college homework, my two other fanfics AND my comics it's a real mission to keep my pace. BUT! Managed to post it! and already working on the next chapter as well as fast as I can. Also, my other two fanfics are not published yet, just in development (really, REALLY slow development) but will post them as soon as I regain my pace with everything. For all those who patiently wait for this slow girl to post another chapter, thank you! I want to keep the work I have done so far to entertain those who have read this story, even within the circumstances. And yes! left the cliffhanger on purpose, a bit more motivation for next chapter as well. This is all for this chapter (short, I know, I was confusing some of the events with the next chapter hehe XD) See you all next time!**_

 ** _~Rin_**


	7. Chapter 7: Unspoken Words

**Chapter 7: Unspoken Words**

"Abigail… there is something I want to tell you…" Hijikata started speaking, gaining Abigail's full attention. "You have been living with us for the last 9 months, and I understand you have your reasons to keep this big secret of yours quiet…" Abigail's eyes shone as they stared into his dark violet ones. Hijikata stopped talking for a second, his hand touching her left cheek gently as his eyes narrowed in thought.

"Hijikata-san?" Abigail asked once again, snapping him from his sudden daydream. Hijikata blinked once, regaining the topic.

"Don't worry, we won't kick you out from the Shinsengumi. I'm sure you were thinking something like that." he said, patting Abigail softly on the head. She stared at him, her eyes wide in surprise.

"I-I can stay?" she asked, incredulous.

Hijikata simply nodded, smiling gently to her. Tears formed in her eyes as she smiled "Thank you… thank you so much!" Wiping the tears that were furiously rolling down her now red cheeks, Abigail could not stop thanking Hijikata. He smiled, holding her right shoulder gently. His move made her look up at him, and for the first time she could see up close his features. _His eyes… his hair… his face…. I can see everything right here, so close._ She thought happily.

"I think you should rest a bit more, so please take your time relaxing." Hijikata suggested. Abigail stood up and looked at him.

"Rest?! With these news?! Heck no I'm going to practice a bit and then go on patrol!" she said happily, turning to the door in haste. Hijikata stood up almost instinctively, blocking her path and pinning her against the wooden door. Abigail's eyes widened, for he was just looking down at the floor, his long black bangs covering his eyes _W-what's gotten into him?_ Was all she could think. "Hijikata… san?" she asked, and he looked at her in shock.

Hijikata let go of her and cleared his throat, looking at her with stern yet worried eyes "After today's events, I highly believe you need some rest, besides…" he said, opening the door and letting her look outside "I don't believe you were aware that it's night time right now." Abigail was dumbfounded, she really had not noticed it was that late. She then looked at him with puppy eyes, as if asking for an explanation. Looking at her reaction, Hijikata couldn't help but chuckle, covering his mouth with his right hand turned into a half fist.

"W-what's so funny?! I seriously didn't notice!" she exclaimed, still looking completely lost. Hijikata just looked at her, smiling gently.

"You weren't asleep that long, and it seems you were far more concerned with the situation than the time." Hijikata then walked closer to her, putting a hand on her shoulder softly "Go rest for tonight, tomorrow you can do what you desire." he said with a gentle smile on his face. Abigail, completely shocked by his kind expression, simply nodded and walked out of the room, looking back at him once, her long hair flowing gracefully over her back. She saw his features once more, admiring or a split second his long, jet black hair, which she thought contrasted hers almost perfectly.

She then smiled "Thank you Hijikata-san." after saying that, she quickly turned around and walked back to her room, leaving a surprised Hijikata behind.

* * *

A few weeks have passed, almost a month after Hijikata talked in private with Abigail. _Why couldn't I tell her…?_ Hijikata thought as he reviewed some papers, so lost in the thought he didn't hear the door slide open. "Vice-commander?" Hearing the new voice in the room, Hijikata blinked, snapping from his daydream, Hijikata then turned to look at the owner of the voice, his eyes as serious as always.

"Saito, what is it?" Hijikata asked in a dazed voice.

"Sir, during our rounds today we overheard a few citizens talking about a few ronin going wild." Saito explained, stopping what he was saying. Hijikata noticed and looked up at him.

"What is it Saito?" Hijikata asked, Saito narrowing his eyes in concern.

"I do not mean to pry sir… but are you doing alright? You seem… distracted." Saito stated in his ever so calm tone. Hijikata sighed, unable to hide his thoughts now that he had been found out.

"To be honest… I'm full of regret right now." Hijikata admitted, closing his eyes in thought. "I was about to tell Abigail something important and ended up telling her something completely different." Saito's eyes widened in slight surprise, unable to say anything to his superior, for he too has been struggling with the same thing.

Just when Saito was going to speak, Heisuke appeared "Trouble! Abi and Okita-san are fighting, and they are not taking it easy on each other!" Both Saito and Hijikata looked at Heisuke in surprise, and Hijikata stood up quickly with a frown in his face.

"What in the whole world has gotten into those two?" he asked, annoyed as he walked past Saito and followed Heisuke as he led the way. Saito stood in place for a second _Should I tell her too?_ He thought, then started following Heisuke and Hijikata.

Once at the main garden, the three saw blood splattered all over the ground, and as they followed the trail, they noticed both Okita and Abigail were almost on their knees, both bleeding from almost every part of their bodies. In normal circumstances, Hijikata would have scolded the two of them, and he was about to when he noticed something strange in Abigail; her eyes. Okita spat to the side, his saliva almost completely stained with blood "So, you finally show yourself huh?" he said between harsh breaths.

A few feet away from him stood Abigail, panting harshly as well as her eyes gleamed in their crystalline blue. She didn't answer Okita's question, just glared at him silently. Having enough of her silence, Okita ran to her at full speed. The tips of Abigail's hair started sparking in blue flames, getting ready for his attack, Hijikata, Heisuke and Saito's eyes widening in fear. "Souji stop!" Hijikata yelled, running alongside Saito to stop the two. Just as Okita was about to thrust his sword at her, she jumped backwards and landed far away from him. Okita was about to run to her once again, when Abigail suddenly started moaning in pain.

Looking at her in concern, they noticed there was a pool of blood underneath her as her wounds quickly closed. Okita was completely shocked as Abigail simply looked up at him with her crystalline eyes. She straightened herself, staring at Okita with serious eyes "Happy now…?" she simply said, walking away from the scene as Saito and Hijikata helped Okita stand.

Hijikata and Saito had taken Okita to his room so that he could rest, and by rest it meant…

"What the hell made you attack her like that?!" Hijikata asked in a scolding way, Okita was just cleaning -or rather covering- his ear with a finger, looking away in an annoyed way. "Now look at you, you're a mess."

Okita then glared at Hijikata "You knew about her didn't you?" he asked, Hijikata's eyes narrowing as he fell silent. Hijikata then looked away from Okita's eyes.

"That is not important at the moment." he simply said. Okita then looked at Hijikata, anger clear in his eyes.

"It is important, why are you keeping that a secret?" Okita asked, but instead of Hijikata answering, it was Saito.

"For hers and our safety, she's being hunted." Okita's eyes widened in surprise, looking at Saito as if he had just seen a ghost.

"Hajime-kun… you knew as well?" Saito simply nodded.

"I was there when she cause the fire in the nearby forest, I saw her lose control." Saito's eyes narrowed as he stared straight at Okita's eyes "I recommend you don't make her use her powers, the man we saw before is also after her." Hearing this, Okita fell silent, then looked at Hijikata, who with only a single glance told him the level of the danger against that man.

"Fine, I will keep quiet too, but don't leave me in the dark anymore." Okita said, and with an agreement from all parts, they left Okita's room, letting him sleep.

* * *

A week has passed since Okita and Abigail fought, and Hijikata was once more working on some paperwork. _I am set, I will tell her today._ He thought, putting everything away and cleaning his workspace. A knock was then heard at the door, making Hijikata respond "Yes?"

Chizuru's voice was heard from the other side of the door "Uhm, Hijikata-san, it's dinner time." she said in a shy tone. Hijikata then stood up and walked to the door, opening it.

"Thanks for telling me, let's go." he said, walking past her towards the lunch room. _I will definitely tell her tonight._

During dinner, it was as rowdy as ever, Heisuke and Shinpachi fighting for food as Abigail focused on eating, trying her best not to get annoyed. Hijikata glanced from time to time at her without the others noticing. Except for Saito. Once they were all done eating, Hijikata walked to Abigail "Can we talk for a moment?" he asked in his usual serious tone, making Abigail look at him in confusion. She then nodded.

"Alright." she said, letting Hijikata lead the way. He then started walking towards the main garden silently. _What's with him? He looks… different…_ she thought as she silently followed him. "Uhm… Hijikata-san?" she asked, and he stopped in the middle of the garden. As if planned, the moon then started shining on both of them. He then turned around, looking at her intently with his dark amethyst eyes. Her own eyes widened, her cheeks turning a soft pink as she admired him under the moonlight, his jet black hair flowing as the wind started blowing gently.

"Abigail… I got something important to tell you…" he started talking, when suddenly a sinister laugh interrupted him. Both glanced at the direction the laugh was coming from, Hijikata readied himself, holding the hilt of his katana. Abigail tried to do the same, only to notice she didn't have her ninjato with her.

 _Damnit! Now of all times I decided to leave my sworn in my room._ She thought as she glared at the shadow walking to them. "I recognize that laugh…" she said lowly, narrowing her eyes _I hope it isn't him… he's super persistent…_ just as she thought that, the silhouette turned into an actual being, under the moonlight, she could now see clearly who was standing a few feet away from them. Her eyes widened "K-Kazama…" she said, Hijikata looking at her reaction.

 _He was the one who provoked her to make that fire in the forest… the one that told us Abigail is an oni._ Hijikata thought as he stood in a righteous position "What are you doing here?" he asked in a menacing voice. Abigail was frozen, now glaring at Kazama as he walked to them. Kazama then smiled widely, his crimson red eyes shining in amusement.

"I came here to pick something that will belong to me soon…" he said, looking at Abigail. Hearing those words, she looked at him with eyes full of hatred _Oh he said something that boils my blood instantly._ She thought, she had never liked when women were treated as men's property, and now some one from her favorite anime show wanted her as his own.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I belong to nobody, nor I will belong to anyone for that matter." she said, and Kazama chuckled.

"I want to see if you can keep that up against me." without any doubt, Abigail knew he would best her in physical strength, but she had far more magical ability than him. She then started getting in an offensive stance, glaring at Kazama.

"Let's see about that." she said, her eyes turning crystal blue. Hijikata then looked at Abigail, reaching for her.

"Wait, Abi-" just when he was about to stop her she dashed towards Kazama, so fast Hijikata could barely see her "ABIGAIL!" he yelled, looking at Kazama's direction.

Hearing their vice-commander, the others ran to the main garden, only to find a big ball of blue light flying in circles in a single spot. "Hijikata-san! What's going on?!" Harada yelled as he ran to Hijikata, who looked at him with a desperate expression.

"It's Abigail, she's fighting Kazama." Hijikata said, glaring at the direction of the blue light. Harada and the other watched as well in shock.

"That's Abigail? That ball of light?" Heisuke asked, and Hijikata nodded.

"Yes, she activated her powers because she's completely unarmed." Hearing this, Harada and Saito looked at Hijikata with fear in their eyes, then Harada started yelling.

"And you let her go fight LIKE THAT?!" Hijikata then glared at Harada.

"I tried to stop her but she's too fast, look closely!" Hijikata snared back, leaving Harada completely stunned by his reaction. Harada then looked at the fight, noticing that all he could see was the light, he could not see her body at all. They tried to aid her, but just when they were about to move they heard a gunshot and stopped in their tracks. Harada scanned his surroundings desperately, then he noticed a tanned man with long, purple hair tied up in a ponytail standing at the left far end of Abigail's fight, smiling widely.

"That's as far as you'll go." the man said, pointing a silver revolver gun at the others. Harada glared at the man, paying his full attention at the threat before him. Harada then drew his spear, ready to strike at the purple haired man.

Meanwhile, Abigail was still fighting Kazama, flying all around him and throwing fireballs at him. Blocking every single one of them, Kazama simply smirked "You don't plan to keep this up forever right? You will get tired eventually."

Abigail, still glaring at him, then responded "Watch me." she taunted. She then threw a last fireball, which Kazama deflected almost perfectly, only that he missed a little detail, it was hotter than the other fireballs. It was so hot it burned the sleeve of his kimono almost instantly, burning his skin slightly. Kazama's eyes widened as he noticed this, then glared at Abigail, who had landed a few feet away from him, panting harshly. Her whole hair was lit up in blue flames, two long and furry ears popping on top of her head and a long, fuzzy white tail waving softly behind her. Luckily for Abigail, she was wearing her black assassin attire, which gave her tail room to move freely.

"You wench! What have you done?!" hearing his scream, everyone then started looking at Kazama in shock. Abigail then smirked.

"I don't know, I'm just a sly fox." she responded, raising her right hand slowly. Hijikata looked at her, completely mesmerized by her new appearance. Abigail then stood up straight, glaring at Kazama as she smirked "Burn…" she said, and balled her hand into a fist. The sky was then glowing in a blue light, and everyone looked up. Hundreds of fireballs were dropping at a really high speed, aimed at Kazama. Hijikata, noticing that Kazama had drawn his sword and was running towards Abigail, yelled at her.

"ABIGAIL!" hearing his scream, Abigail then noticed Kazama, almost too late. She tried to dodge to the right, but Kazama's sword had already pierced through her left side. Abigail gasped, her eyes widening as the wave of pain ran through her whole body.

Kazama then smiled "Too slow…" he said, pulling the sword out of her and jumping back, not noticing the fireballs and getting hit by all of them. There was a huge explosion, though it was only fire, and Abigail held her side tightly to stop the bleeding. At that moment, Chizuru had arrived at the scene, looking at everything in complete fear.

Hijikata ran to Abigail, who fell on her knees as she tried to handle the pain. "Abigail!" he yelled, the others running to them from the other side of the garden. Abigail lifted her gaze, her eyes still their strange crystalline blue.

"H-Hijikata… san…" she whispered, then she groaned loudly in pain. Hijikata noticed she was bleeding too much, and tried to call to the others… when they heard the sinister laugh again.

"Fools… you think something like that was enough to kill me?" the smoke dissipated, revealing a burned Kazama with almost completely torn clothes. His hair was now white, and his eyes glowed in a bright yellow, four horns coming out of his forehead. Abigail and Hijikata both looked at Kazama in shock.

"H-How…" Hijikata whispered.

"I'm a pure blood oni, it doesn't hurt me as it does to a pathetic human like you." Kazama responded, then found Chizuru at the far end "huh… interesting, you were hiding yet another oni in here." hearing this, Abigail's eyes widened _Chizuru!_ She thought, then stood up, glaring at Kazama.

"Stay away from her!" she yelled, but quickly fell on her knees, moaning loudly in pain. Hijikata tried to hold her, but then noticed Kazama had walked past them. Realizing where Kazama was headed, Hijikata then noticed Chizuru, who had drawn her short sword, completely terrified. Hijikata then stood up and dashed towards Chizuru, holding the short sword with one hand as he embraced her with the other hand.

"You are not to lay a hand on her…" Hijikata said in a menacing voice. Seeing this, Abigail could just stay on the floor, completely frozen. _I forgot… I… completely forgot…_ she thought desperately, and she swore she heard her heart break right there _That's right… Hijikata protects Chizuru… and falls in love with her…_ Those were the last thoughts before her vision went completely black.

* * *

The next morning, Abigail started opening her eyes, the sun rays fiercely shining on her. "Nng…" she moaned softly, putting a bandaged arm over her face.

"Abigail?" she heard a familiar voice, and looked to her side. Kneeling by her side was none other than Hijikata, a look of concern on his face. "Are you alright?" he asked gently. Unable to properly reply, she almost immediately started remembering the even of the night before, her eyes widening as she jumped, sitting on the tatami.

"H-hey! You're still injured!" Hijikata yelled in surprise, and a wave of pain ran through her whole body from the spot where Kazama had pierced with his sword. She moaned loudly, holding her side tightly. Hijikata groaned in frustration "Geez, you may heal quicker than us but you should at least rest." Abigail looked up at him, then she looked down at her knees.

"Please get out…" she simply said, her messy bangs covering her eyes. Hijikata looked at her in confusion, but knowing her, if he argued to stay she would've tried to move and hurt herself more than she already was. Thinking so, Hijikata simply sighed as he stood up.

"Very well, I will let you rest for now." he said as he turned around and walked out of her room. Once she heard his footsteps far enough, she started sobbing lightly _I knew it… he will end up loving her no matter what… then why… why does it hurt so much?_ She thought as she started crying herself to sleep.

* * *

It has been three days since the Kazama incident, and during those three days Abigail had completely avoided Hijikata like the plague. At first Hijikata would try to talk to her, but after the second day he had decided not to bother her, however, his regret was haunting him even more, and he desperately wanted to tell her how he felt. Hijikata then called everyone to the meeting room, including Abigail.

Once everyone was in the meeting room, Hijikata, sitting by Kondo-san's side, cleared his throat. "Well everyone, I am announcing that tomorrow, Sannan-san and I are going on a special mission, and I am taking a third one with us." Everyone in the room fell silent, Saito glanced at Hijikata with a serious expression.

"Who might that third person be?" Okita asked.

"Abigail will be coming with us as well." this time, everyone was surprised, even Abigail herself.

"W-wait a minute, I haven't agreed to-" she started, but was interrupted by Hijikata himself.

"This is an order from your superiors." he said coldly and Abigail fell silent. She then glanced annoyingly to her left.

"Understood…" she simply said.

"T-then it's decided." Kondo said, feeling awkward. Kondo then dismissed everyone, calling Hijikata privately. "Toshi, why did you choose her in such a rough way?" Kondo asked. Hijikata frowned in frustration, and avoided Kondo's gaze, just like a child does when scolded.

"I… have something important to tell her, but she has been avoiding me all these days." he admitted. Kondo's eyes widened, surprised to hear that much emotion in his friend's voice, then he smiled gently, putting a hand gently on Hijikata's shoulder.

"Well Toshi… do what you have to do alright?" Hijikata then looked up at him, giving a slight smile.

The next day, all three of them had gotten ready and headed to their destination; Osaka. By afternoon they were already where they were supposed to post themselves. That night, they were attacked by some ronin that took them by surprise. The surprise made them split up, and he ronin cornered Sannan. He fought the off with great skill, but then another one that was hiding in the shadows attacked his from behind, injuring his right arm.

Hijikata and Abigail noticed, Hijikata sliced another ronin and ran to Sannan "Sannan-san! Are you alright?!" he asked, and Sannan looked up at him in pain.

"M-my arm…" Sannan groaned. Hijikata, completely focused on helping Sannan, didn't notice that the ronin that hurt Sannan was running to him, but Abigail did. She gasped and dashed to them "Hijikata-san watch out!" at her scream, Hijikata looked behind him, the ronin had his sword up high already and was about to swing it down… until…

Hijikata had crouched, protecting Sannan with his own body so that he could take the blow, but he wasn't feeling anything at all. When both men looked back, Abigail had slashed the man in three, his body parts all scattered around the area and creating a sea of blood. She then looked at them, panting slightly "Are you both alright?" she asked, the moonlight shining on her features. And there they were, the same crystalline blue eyes Hijikata had engraved in his mind and heart.

* * *

 _ **Finally another chapter! I am so very sorry for the late update, I was in finals and starting this week I start my last trimester at college so I will be extremely busy, still going to try to post how I'm supposed to. On another note, I want to thank those who have been reading this story so far, so I want to know if you guys are liking how it's going, leave me a review for it okies? That's it for this time, see you all in next chapter, love you all! 3**_

 ** _~Rin_**


	8. Chapter 8: So close, yet so far

**Chapter 8: So close, yet so far**

After the incident in Osaka, Hijikata, Sannan and Abigail were back to headquarters. Hijikata had sent a letter in advance, telling the others about Sannan's injuries, so the others were ready to greet Sannan as if nothing had happened. Abigail had decided not to dine with everyone that night, instead she locked herself in the room, the events of Osaka running through her mind like a wild river. _His face… I knew Hijikata felt responsible… but I never expected to see that expression on him._ She thought…

* * *

 _After Abigail protected both Sannan and Hijikata, she looked back at them, the both of them looking at her in surprise. "A-Abigail… your eyes…" Sannan remarked. Abigail shook her head._

 _"There is no time Sannan-san, we have to get back to safety and treat your wound." she said as she helped Hijikata to lift Sannan to his feet. Abigail glanced at Hijikata, her eyes widening in surprise. He was looking at the ground, a face full of regret and defeat, and in some way, rage. Abigail knew why he looked like that, he felt responsible for Sannan's injuries cause he was supposed to protect his comrade. "Hijikata-san…" Abigail called softly, which made him flinch slightly and look up at her with pained eyes. She then shook her head softly, and Hijikata understood what she was saying._ Don't let it get to you… _she thought as they helped Sannan get back to safety._

* * *

It was morning, and Abigail started opening her eyes as the sunrays illuminated her room. She sat on her tatami, stretching carefully. After stretching she gets out of the tatami and stands up, walking to the window and opening it slightly, letting the morning rays shine over her marble toned skin. She then turned around, searching through her wardrobe.

"No… I wore this last week… not that either… the jeans I used this with got torn apart when Kazama attacked… and this dress is mostly for summer and we are in the middle of spring… I got nothing to wear!" she complained loudly, turning away from her wardrobe with her arms crossed over her chest, completely annoyed. Just when she turned to search again, Harada passed by her window, noticing her grunts and annoyed little screams. He then got closer to the window.

"Abigail?" he asked, and she almost immediately flinched, looking at him with wide eyes.

"H-Harada-san… am I being too loud?" she asked.

Harada nodded "Yep, again. And by the same thing for the third time this week."

"Hey, I got nothing to wear! Most of my clothes are getting mismatched because I have been attacked by that damned Kazama. And to top it all, my other clothes are dirty and it's still not laundry day." she said as she kept searching through her clothes. While distracted, she suddenly found the blue backpack with Kino's gun inside, freezing as she saw it. Almost instinctively she opened the bag and pulled the gun out, staring at it.

Harada then looked at Abigail curiously "Abi? Is everything alright?" he asked, and she turned around, looking at him with a sad smile. Harada's eyes widened.

"You see this gun? It belonged to my deceased partner… Kino… I had decided not to use it and keep it as a memoir. It's silly for a woman like me to do this with such a dangerous weapon, but it means a lot cause it was Kino's first legal gun." she explained.

"Legal?" Harada asked and Abigail nodded.

"Yes, in the world I come from guns are not given to just anybody you know? You gotta have special papers and permissions to have and use guns or any kind or arms." she started, and since Harada looked even more confused, she tried explaining a bit more. "In other words, you have to prove you are worthy of having arms."

Harada then nodded "So it's not like you can buy them whenever you want?" Abigail shook her head.

"No, in my world there are no massive wars like in this era." hearing that, Harada's eyes widened.

"Seriously?!" he exclaimed, and Abigail nodded, a bit concerned about his reaction. He then turned around and ran off "I gotta tell everyone!" he screamed.

Abigail just stared as he ran off, and then looked at herself, her eyes going wide in shock "W-wait a second… was I talking to him wearing my sleep dress?!" her cheeks turned red, and she fell on her knees in disbelief "N-no way… I didn't notice at all I was wearing this…"

Later on, Abigail had finally changed and walked out of her room. She was wearing a black one piece suit with slit baggy pants and her gray ankle-high boots. She decided to braid her hair, and she wore long fingerless gloves that matched her boots. "Man it was hard to choose my outfit today…" she sighed, bumping into something that felt soft yet hard at the same time. "Ow!" she yelped, taking a step back and rubbing her forehead gently.

"Are you alri- Abigail?" she opened her eyes to see the owner of the voice, it was Saito, who was looking at her in surprise.

"Oh, Saito-san, I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention." he shook his head.

"Don't worry, are you alright?" he asked, and Abigail nodded.

"Yes, thanks for asking." she smiled "Where are you headed?"

"I was getting ready to go on patrol." he looked away from her, his cheeks a slight pink. Abigail, not noticing, walked in front of him.

"Mind if I join you? I seriously got nothing better to do right now." she said, and just when Saito was about to talk he was interrupted by another familiar voice.

"If you really have nothing better to do, why not investigate the case that was given to you last week?" the voice sounded annoying, and Abigail flinched lightly, turning slowly to see that Hijikata was right behind her.

"O-oh… that… well…" she tried to make up an excuse, but failed miserably. Hijikata simply told Saito to go ahead with his patrol, and ordered Abigail to head to the forest to investigate about the rumors that an evil creature lurked there at night.

* * *

"Man! Why did he send me all alone to do this?! What if Kazama appears out of nowhere?! Geez Hijikata can be heartless sometimes!" she complained, walking through the trees. She then reached the area that she had previously burned, staring at it for a few seconds "This is where I lost control and passed out… I am still so weak…" she said, walking deeper into the forest. As she got deeper, she started hearing a soft cry, and she immediately walked in the direction the cry was coming from. She then noticed a little girl sitting on the dirt, her clothes all torn off and her skin cut and bruised, Abigail gasped, hurrying to the girl's aid.

"Are you alright?! Who did this to you?!" Abigail asked worriedly, and the girl looked up at her. Still crying, the girl started speaking.

"O-Onee-san… i-it was a big and blond man… I accidentally bumped into him… and he seemed so mad…" the girl said between cries.

"Well well, look who we got here." A familiar voice startled both Abigail and the little girl, who started crying desperately. Abigail hugged the girl protectively, glaring as she heard footsteps walking towards her. As he slowly became visible, Abigail's eyes turned blue.

"Kazama…" she hissed softly, glaring at the blond man now standing in front of the duo. The girl opened her eyes, glancing at Kazama, who was glaring down at both of them, and she started crying loudly, her whole body trembling. Noticing this, Abigail pulled the girl closer to her "What do you want?" Kazama chuckled.

"I wanted to get your attention, and this seemed to be the best and most effective way." Abigail was undoubtedly enraged, for his actions were ruthless. _Scaring innocent people just to catch my attention… he's such an…_ her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as Kazama started getting into a leaping position. Before Abigail could make a move, Kazama was already over them, holding his katana over his head and ready to swing it down to Abigail's head. She closed her eyes tightly, covering the girl with her whole body. _Damn… at least protect her…!_

Just when Abigail braced herself, a loud clanking noise was heard right over her head. Abigail opened her eyes, which widened as her vision adjusted to the scene. Right there, in front of her, she saw a long jet black ponytail flowing graciously, and purple clothing. Abigail gasped slowly, then exclaimed "Hijikata-san!"

Hijikata then looking at her from over his shoulder "Take the girl to a safer place! Go!" he yelled, and Abigail immediately nodded, carrying the girl in her arms and taking her back to the town. The girl's mother was at the entrance of the forest, crying desperately, and once she saw her daughter in Abigail's arms, she ran to them.

"Oh my goodness! You saved my child! Thank you miss, thank you very much." the woman thanked with tears in her eyes as she embraced her daughter. Abigail smiled and nodded, then turned around and dashed into the forest again.

When Abigail got back, she saw Kazama and Hijikata were still fighting fiercely "Hijikata-san!" Abigail yelled, dashing to Kazama while unsheathing her ninjato "Let me help!" her eyes turned blue almost instantly, and she lunged at Kazama, swinging her sword in and arc with great speed and force. Kazama, however, dodged her attack almost effortlessly, but what he didn't know was that Hijikata was already making an attack as well. Kazama tried to dodge his attack as well, but the blade still grazed his face. Jumping backwards and standing at a considerable distance from the duo, Kazama then noticed his wound, touching it with his fingers.

His glare now turned into a deadly and furious glance "You bastards!" he yelled, his eyes now turning yellow and his hair turning white as horns slowly made their way through his bangs. Abigail and Hijikata both looked at Kazama with shocked eyes. "A mere human injuring my face?! You will pay for this!" he yelled as he lunged at an extreme speed towards the two, and just as Kazama was about to touch Hijikata, he saw a blue ball of flames clash against the attack, pushing both Kazama and Abigail with force to opposite ways.

Abigail, pushed away by the strong force, crashed against Hijikata, sending them both flying towards a big tree. Hijikata's back hit the trunk as he held Abigail by her shoulders, making them both yelp in pain. They both fell on the ground, Abigail now sitting between Hijikata's legs and panting slightly. She then turned to look at Hijikata "H-Hijikata-san… are you… are you alright?" she asked.

"Y-yeah… I think…" he said between breaths. Abigail then looked forward, noticing Kazama standing a few meters away from them. She then stood up, holding her ninjato with two hands now, Hijikata saw this and looked towards Kazama as well _Damnit… he is still standing as well._ He thought.

Abigail glared at Kazama, and just as both her and Kazama got into a leaping position, a big, bulky man landed right in the middle of the field. He straightened up, looking at both Kazama and Abigail with his crystal blue eyes. He then turned to Kazama "There is no need for bloodshed, besides, you got some business somewhere else." the man simply said, making Kazama withdraw his sword in annoyance. His eyes and hair turned back to normal as he glanced at Abigail.

"We will settle this… someday." he said, turning around and disappearing. The blue-eyes man bowed to them once and disappeared as well.

Abigail then turned to Hijikata, running to him to help him get up "Sorry about that Hijikata-san." she said. He looked up to meet her eyes, which were turning back to their light amethyst tone.

He chuckled once "It's nothing, great combo by the way." he said. Abigail looked at him as he stood up on his own, completely surprised at what he had just told her. "Let's go back, shall we?" he looked at her briefly, and then turned around towards the exit of the forest. Abigail could just look at him as he walked away.

* * *

Back at headquarters, Hijikata and Abigail told the others what had happened at the forest, and were now celebrating that the investigation went completely fine. Once the feast was over, Abigail decided to go to her room so that she could rest after the day she had. Shortly after she got in her room, she changed to her sleeping dress and brushed her hair, and as she did she heard footsteps near her room.

She was used to the noise, for her room was on the way towards the commander's and vice-commanders' rooms, so she paid no attention to it, until…

"Toshi? What do you think you're doing? Abigail must be asleep by now." it was Kondo's voice, clearly sounding surprised. Abigail's eyes widened, and tried not to move as to not make a sound.

"So soon?" Hijikata's voice asked, and Abigail blinked once in curiosity _He sounds… dazed._ She thought, and kept hearing.

"Well, yeah. After today's events I am honestly not surprised she is exhausted. Remember she isn't used to this life." Kondo said, and Hijikata grunted in agreement.

"Honestly speaking, when I remember Abigail isn't from this world it's surprising how she has developed in such little time. And for a woman to be that strong in this era, it's even more surprising." Hijikata's voice was soft, which surprised Abigail to an extent.

"Toshi, have you grown close to Abigail as well?" Kondo asked, making Abigail blush slightly.

"You… could say that, I have been trying to talk to her but lately we all have been so busy with the ronin attacks and that oni called Kazama." Hijikata sounded concerned, her light amethyst eyes shining as she heard their conversation.

"Uhm… Toshi, it's bad manners to speak in front of a woman's room, let's go somewhere else." Kondo chuckled _No wait! This is interesting!_ She thought desperately, but kept completely quiet. Then their footsteps were heard, the sound growing faint as they walked away from her room's area, until it was completely silent. Abigail then stood up, walking to her door and sliding it open. She noticed it had gotten considerably cold, for it was almost winter once again _Wait a minute… now that I actually stop to think about it… I have been almost a year here with the Shinsengumi. A lot has happened… starting with…_ her thoughts stopped and her mouth opened as she started to speak.

"Kino's death…" she said in a soft voice, almost breathing the words out. She looked up at the night sky "Kino… are you doing alright up there? I know you have been watching over me…" she smiled, but her expression was sad "I hope you are not mad that I have fallen completely in love with someone else… but more than that, someone that might not love me back." Completely lost in her thoughts, she failed to notice someone was watching over her, two people to be exact.

Hiding in the shadows of the hallway, Hijikata and Kondo watched as Abigail looked up at the sky. "Toshi… are you sure we have to watch over her? Nothing seems to be happening to her right now." Kondo whispered.

Hijikata, without taking his eyes off Abigail, simply responded "Yes Kondo-san, last time she even fainted from it. We just need to wait."

And just as Hijikata said that, Abigail took a deep and long breath. She started shining, and at the same time her feet lifted from the ground. All they could see was the shiny silhouette, both noticing that her form was slightly changing. Two pointy shapes protruded from her head, and at the same time a long wavy one from her lower back. She then started going down, and as soon as her feet touched the ground the light that enveloped her dispersed all around the area, falling as softly as snow.

Both Hijikata and Kondo looked in amazement. _Is this… Abigail's true form?_ Hijikata thought, unable to look away from what was in front of them. With her head still facing up to the sky and her eyes closed, Abigail stood still. A pair of soft long fox ears shimmered in a silvery white tone, as well as a white long and furry tail that waved in a majestic motion. She then started opening her eyes, which shone in their unusual crystalline blue.

Hijikata was completely mesmerized as he saw Abigail's new form _Abigail…_ was all he could think, when he was suddenly interrupted. "Toshi… look." Kondo said, gaining Hijikata's full attention.

Just then, Abigail exhaled, the shiny dust turning into thousands of light butterflies and fluttering to the sky, then Hijikata noticed, Abigail was smiling warmly as she looked up to the butterflies. "Goodbye Kino." she whispered, the butterflies almost instantly disappearing into the night sky. After a few more minutes, Abigail closed her eyes and tilted her head down, her ears and tail quickly vanishing . "Well, time to sleep. Tomorrow is a really busy day again." she said, walking back into her room.

Kondo and Hijikata were completely baffled, and then Kondo started talking to Hijikata "Uhm… Toshi? Toshi?" Kondo asked. Hijikata didn't respond, he just stood up. "We should also go to sleep, ok?" Kondo said.

Hijikata simply nodded "Yes…"

Kondo looked at him in confusion, but he knew better than pry into his friend's personal stuff, so he walked back to his room. Shortly after Kondo disappeared, Hijikata then looked to his left, seeing the door to Abigail's room from the side "I have to let you know… and soon… I promise you I will tell you… Abigail." his voice was passionate and soft as he made this promise from the bottom of his heart. He then turned around, walking to his own room _I hope you feel the same…_


	9. Chapter 9: It has been that long

**Chapter 9: It has been that long**

It has already been a year since Abigail was found by Harada and brought to the Shinsengumi, and she had started planning something to thank everybody for saving her and letting her stay. While in her room, she had realized she has never actually talked to Chizuru "Damn… she doesn't really deserve me treating her like this because of my own feelings… I should finally talk to her." Abigail whispered to herself, walking to the door and sliding it open. She flinched and hugged herself, shivering slightly as the cold wind blew on her gently "So cold! I forgot!" she yelped, not noticing there was someone listening to her.

"Are you alright Abigail-san?" a girl's voice asked, making Abigail jump and look at the only possible owner of that voice.

"Oh! Ch-Chizuru, you surprised me!" Abigail's light amethyst looked straight at Chizuru's chocolate ones, who looked at her in slight concern. "I'm fine, it's just that it's rather cold, I completely forgot it was winter already." Chizuru then smiled shyly.

"U-uhm… I got a pair of coats, would you want one?" Chizuru offered Abigail a pearl white colored overcoat, and Abigail looked at it intently, smiling at Chizuru afterwards as she took the overcoat.

"Thanks Chizuru." Abigail said, making the young girl smile brightly. "Say Chizuru, how about we go get drinks that could warm us up? We could also have a little fun." Abigail suggested, and Chizuru looked at her with surprised eyes.

"S-Sure!" Chizuru said happily.

Both girls spent almost the whole morning walking around town and talking, laughing and smiling. It was now the middle of the day, and they had decided to stop by a dango shop to then go back to headquarters. "So, Abigail-san, how did you meet everybody?" Chizuru asked as Abigail took a sip of the hot tea. Abigail then looked at her with a warm expression.

"Chizuru, call me Abigail alright? No formalities between us since we are both women got it?" Abigail said, making the young one blush as she nodded in agreement. "As for how I met the Shinsengumi, it's a slightly long story, but at the same time is truly short, you see, Harada-san found me almost dead in the lake nearby after I had an accident in my own world. When I woke up I realized I was in this era with everybody." Chizuru was completely shocked.

"Wait… your world?" she asked, and Abigail nodded.

"Yes, I come from another era, a modern one." she explained in simple words so that Chizuru could understand. Now completely curious, Chizuru started asking Abigail about every single detail in her own world, how it was, how the people looked, about buildings and the sort. Both girls giggled as Abigail responded Chizuru's excited questions.

"I am actually surprised how the women in your era are so free to do what they want." Chizuru said in wonder.

"Oh yeah, women in my era are taught to be independent, to not need a man to survive. Of course, I am the extreme case, ever since I was young I've fought with both men and women, I've even used guns." Chizuru looked at Abigail as if she had seen a ghost, making Abigail chuckle. "Relax, women are allowed to use guns as well, under a strict training of course."

"That's impressive, so you learned all about combat in your era to fight those doing wrong?" Chizuru asked, and Abigail smiled in a sour way.

"You… you could say that, but if I were to describe it better… more to keep my territory intact, it was all about pride to be honest, we don't fight with honor in my era, we even trick people and kill them for their back." The conversation went on, Chizuru was both amazed and sad about Abigail's experiences. "There was one time that I admit I overdid it, it was when my oni powers woke up." hearing this, Chizuru was looking at Abigail with surprised eyes. Abigail looked at Chizuru "Yep, just like you Chizuru."

Chizuru then looked to the ground "H-how did you know…?"

"I told you didn't I? I come from a world where you guys were just a show I watched, I know a lot of things about all of you." Chizuru looked a little frightened, and Abigail put a hand gently on Chizuru's left shoulder. "Hey, it will be alright, I can assure you."

Chizuru then looked up at Abigail "Are you sure? Won't they kick me out if they find out?" Abigail shook her head.

"They won't, they already know I am an oni and I'm still there." Abigail smiled, and Chizuru smiled softly in return. "I think we've been out long enough, should we go back?" Abigail stood up, offering Chizuru a hand while smiling. The young girl took Abigail's hand, smiling and nodding.

"Sure!" she exclaimed, and as both females walked back, Chizuru looked at Abigail "Thanks for this, Abigail-chan."

Abigail looked at Chizuru, her cheeks slightly pink, and she smiled back "You're welcome, Chizuru." she then chuckled _It's not only my name yet, but it's improvement. Oh! I know!_ "Chizuru, just call me Abi-chan, alright?" the young girl's eyes started sparkling, then she smiled wholeheartedly.

"Sure thing Abi-chan!" Abigail then smiled at her again in return.

"Much better."

* * *

Once back at headquarters, the girls headed to the main garden to talk some more, when a grim topic for Abigail rose up. "Hey, Abi-chan? If you know everything about us, how come you don't tell Hijikata-san about it?" Abigail froze as Chizuru mentioned his name. Chizuru noticed this and asked "Abigail?"

Abigail's eyes now looked at the young girl with a sad expression "T-that's because… there's something I don't want him to know just yet…"

Chizuru was confused, then walked to Abigail "Is something the matter?"

"Chizuru… please keep this secret but… Hijikata-san and you will fall in love at some point…" Chizuru's eyes widened, then she started chuckling nervously.

"A-Abi-chan that cannot be, you must be confused." Abigail looked at Chizuru as she chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Abigail asked.

"I don't think Hijikata-san will ever look at someone like me. Besides, I've heard him say to himself that he has something important to tell you." Abigail looked to her right, holding her arm.

"I don't know Chizuru… I really don't think there is something that important he needs to say besides the fact that he told me I could stay…" Chizuru then held Abigail's hands, looking at her.

"But Abi-chan… don't you have feelings for Hijikata-san?" Abigail's eyes widened in surprise, her cheeks turning a bright pink.

"H-how did you…" Chizuru giggled.

"I just noticed. You hide it well though." Chizuru answered. Abigail smiled softly, then hugged the girl gently, who was completely shocked at first, but then hugged her back.

"Thanks Chizuru, but I am sure I am not the one he has feelings for…" Abigail whispered. And just when Chizuru was about to answer, they heard a man clearing his throat, as if wanting to catch their attention. They both jumped, letting go of each other and looking at the owner of the sound, it was none other than Hijikata, who was looking at both of them with a really annoyed expression.

"And just where the hell did you two disappear to all morning?" he asked, rather angered. Chizuru tried speaking, but stuttered all her words. It was Abigail that answered.

"We went to have some girl time, is that a problem?" she asked defiantly. Hijikata then glared at Abigail, which surprised her to an extent _Here it comes, he will say something that will overpass me and I won't have anything to say about it._ Abigail thought.

"It is a problem, have you forgotten Chizuru is under the protection of the Shinsengumi?" Hijikata said in a dark and serious tone, which triggered Abigail.

"I am also part of the Shinsengumi, and you have seen pretty well that I can protect myself and those around me." she argued.

"Can you do it against Kazama? Have you forgotten he is after the both of you?" Hijikata said, and Abigail's eyes widened, unable to argue that point. She balled her hands into fists _Damnit! I cannot really argue against that, I still need more training to beat Kazama._ Abigail thought. And almost as if Hijikata could read her mind, he spoke once again "Once you have trained enough to beat Kazama, you can do whatever you desire. In the meantime, you are not to take Chizuru out without asking permission." Abigail's eyes widened, as she was completely shocked by Hijikata's sudden attitude towards her.

Chizuru, looking at both of them worriedly, tried to speak, but Abigail just simply turned away and ran out of the compound. _I knew it! There is no way! They are both destined to be!_ Abigail thought as her tears flew from the corners of her eyes, and she kept running as far away from the headquarters as she could.

Hijikata turned around "Let's go…" he said thoughtfully as he walked inside, Chizuru looking between him and where Abigail had run to, then walked inside as well. _Abigail…_ Chizuru thought as she walked after Hijikata.

It was already nighttime, and Hijikata had decided to get out of his room after a day of hard work. Sighing in relief, Hijikata then heard steps coming his way, and he looked to his right to meet both Harada and Heisuke, both looking worried. "Is something the matter?" Hijikata asked.

"We can't find Abigail…" Heisuke said, looking at the floor with a pained expression. Hijikata looked at the young man with his deep purple eyes.

"What? What do you mean?" Hijikata asked.

"We haven't seen Abigail since this morning, and we can't seem to find her." Harada said.

"She isn't back yet?" Hijikata asked, gaining the duo's attention.

"Isn't back? Hijikata-san do you know where she is?" Harada asked, and Hijikata shook his head.

"I just know she ran out after an argument we had…" Hijikata said thoughtfully. Harada and Heisuke simply looked at him blankly. Harada then got back to his senses, and glared at Hijikata, and as soon as he was about to yell, they heard a female yelp at the front gate. The three jerked up and hurried to the main gate.

They found Abigail on her knees with a few items scattered around her as she rubbed her right wrist. She scanned the items with an annoyed look "So heavy!" she complained, standing up.

"Abigail!" Heisuke yelled, running to her. She looked at Heisuke in shock.

"Oh, Heisuke, what are you doing here?" Abigail asked, Harada answering her question as he walked to her alongside Hijikata.

"We were looking for you and heard your scream." he said, Hijikata sighing in relief _At least she's alright…_ he thought. Abigail looked at them incredulous.

"You were looking for… me?" she asked completely confused.

"Have you forgotten you ran away a few hours ago?" Hijikata asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Abigail then gave him a sour look.

"I can understand about the others… but why would you care Hijikata-san?" she spat her words in an angered way, leaving the three males completely in shock. Hijikata mouthed, unable to properly speak, then fell completely silent. Seeing this, Abigail scoffed "Seriously… you can't even answer to that." she started picking the stuff she accidentally dropped, and once done she stood up and glared at Hijikata "I'm going back to my room…" she said, walking hastily to her room. _What's wrong with me? I spent all day outside to get over what happened this morning… yet why? Why am I acting like this?_ She thought as she got in her room and locked herself in it.

Hijikata, Harada and Heisuke just stared at each other in shock. "Hijikata-san, exactly how heated your argument with Abigail was?" Harada asked. Hijikata was looking at the ground in defeat, surprising both Harada and Heisuke. Harada then sighed "Nevermind, but I think you should at least let her know how you truly feel Hijikata-san." Hearing those words, both Hijikata and Heisuke looked at Harada almost immediately.

"What?! You must be joking Sano-san!" Heisuke chuckled nervously, but was abruptly stopped.

"How did you know?" Hijikata asked, leaving Heisuke completely wordless. Harada simply looked at Hijikata with a bit of annoyance.

"A man in love can tell when another man is in love you know? You hide it well, but I can still see through it Hijikata-san. Why not just tell her?" Harada started, Hijikata looking at his right side annoyingly. Hijikata's long hair flowing graciously as the wind started blowing, his eyes shimmering under the moonlight as he held an expression of desperation.

"I've… been trying to tell her… but last time I tried, was when Kazama attacked us here." Hijikata said, and Harada walked to him, gently putting a hand over his shoulder. Hijikata looked up at Harada, who was smiling warmly at him.

"Hijikata-san, don't give up alright? You'll be able to tell her soon." Harada said, and both men nodded at each other.

Later that night, Hijikata walked to Abigail's room. He stopped right in front of the door, staring blankly for a couple of seconds, then braced himself. _I will definitely tell her tonight._ He thought, and knocked on the door once. No response. He then started hearing sobs from inside the room, freezing Hijikata for a couple more seconds _She's… crying?_ He then knocked on the door again, this time, he heard a soft gasp from inside.

He waited for her to answer, but noticing there was only silence he knocked again. This time however, he heard stomps inside the room, getting closer to the door and finally the door flew open. "What is it?!" she yelled.

Abigail's eyes widened, tears clearly formed in her eyes, her silvery hair a complete mess. Hijikata had never seen her so… vulnerable. He stared at her in both awe and surprise, then she started talking "H-Hijikata… san…?" she asked, unable to believe he was actually there in front of her. Her expression then changed, and she glared at him "W-what the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"I want to talk to you about something urgent and important." Hijikata said, looking at her with concerned eyes.

"I think we said enough to each other today already." he had to admit, her attitude was both intriguing and annoying for him. He was trying his best to not let it get to him, but in the end, his pride won yet again.

"Look, I get that you're mad, but this is truly important." Hijikata said annoyingly.

"What in the whole world could be so important at this hour?!" Abigail started raising her voice in agitation. Hijikata was shocked at first, then he look at her in annoyance _Why is she so mad?_ He thought.

"Look Abigail, I don't know why you're mad, but at least calm down and let me ta-" he was cut off by her once again.

"You want to know why I'm mad? Because it's frustrating to know the one I'm in love with isn't even interested in me! He's gonna end up with another woman eventually and there is nothing I can do about it!" she yelled, tears forming in her eyes once again. Hijikata was surprised, and at the same time slightly heartbroken.

"Why not tell him how you feel?" he asked. This only made Abigail more agitated.

"Cause it's pointless! He won't change once he realizes his feelings!" she kept yelling blindly, and Hijikata touched her shoulders gently.

"Abigail, calm down." he said, and almost as soon as he touched her she started struggling to be free from his grasp.

"Let me go!" she screamed as he kept trying to keep her still. "Why would you care?! It's none of your business anyway!" she kept struggling and thrashing about, unable to get free from his strong yet gentle grasp.

"Abigail calm down!" Hijikata yelled, full of concern for the woman in front of him. _She's not listening to me, if she loses control it will be bad!_ He thought as he figured what he could do to calm her down. _I can only tell her right now…_

"Why are you still here! It's not like you care or anything!" she yelled again, and Hijikata's eyes widened. For a second that felt like minutes for him, _What's this feeling?_ His chest started hurting as he heard those words, a pain he never expected to feel. His lips then parted as he started to speak.

"Because I'm in love with you Abigail!" he yelled, holding her still. Her eyes widened, tears running furiously still. He was looking at her with a pained expression, his dark purple eyes staring straight at her lighter ones "For a long time now Abigail… I think I've fallen in love with you." he whispered. She was petrified, completely incredulous of what she was hearing.

"Y-you're lying… r-right?" she said, her voice trembling as she just stared straight into his eyes.

"I'm not." Hijikata answered in a serious way, staring at Abigail as if he was afraid of something. She then started sobbing softly. His eyes widened as he saw her cry that closely for the first time.

"I-it's a lie… y-you're supposed to fall in love with Chizuru in the future… that's what the anime showed…" she struggled to form the sentence as she cried lowly.

"Abigail… listen to me… whatever you saw before about us is just there, and you were not present in what you saw. But now, you're here with us, you're here with me, and it's you whom I've fallen in love with." Hijikata said in a calm and serene voice, trying to calm the trembling Abigail. "I just… hope you feel the same way."

Abigail just stared at him, her hair shining under the moonlight like silver strings made of silk. His hair also shone in the midnight black hair that contrasted hers perfectly. Both their eyes gleaming in different shades of purple, and she could perfectly see his features, as well as he now could see hers better as well. They both admired each other, and slowly he started leaning towards her. As he got closer, they both closed their eyes in perfect sync, slowly…


	10. Chapter 10: The truth

**Chapter 10: The truth**

Hijikata leaned towards Abigail, both of them closing their eyes slowly in perfect unison. W-what is Hijikata doing? Abigail thought, and before she could think anything else, she felt his lips pressed gently against hers. She felt her cheeks burning, and she knew she was blushing, yet she couldn't pull away from the man she had desired for so long Is this finally happening? This isn't a dream, right? Her thoughts started running wild, and she felt his hands cupping her face. She almost instinctively moved her own hands and held his wrists gently, almost begging him not to let go of her.

After a few long seconds they broke the kiss, both staring straight into each other's eyes. Abigail was completely frozen for a second, then tears started rolling down her now red cheeks "H-Hijikata-san… I… I have fallen in love with you as well…" she whispered. Hearing this, Hijikata's eyes widened in surprise, and he hugged her tightly as she did the same.

"I'm so glad… that you feel the same." Hijikata said in an ever so gentle voice. They hugged for a few minutes before Hijikata pulled away and looked at her with caring eyes. "It has gotten late, we should both go rest." Abigail nodded while smiling.

"I totally agree." she said, and noticed Hijikata was leaning for another kiss. After their gentle goodnight kiss, Abigail walked back inside her room, waving at Hijikata as he waited for her to close the door. Once she did, Hijikata started walking to his own room, unable to get rid of the taste of her lips from his mind.

* * *

It has been a while since Abigail and Hijikata confessed their feelings to each other, yet had decided to keep their relationship secret for the time being as to not create a disturbance. This night however, would put them and their friends to the test. A meeting was held that night, they were talking about a group of ronin who were going to meet at an inn to attack the shogun. It's the Ikeda Inn incident. Abigail thought quietly as the other decided which inn would be the one. Abigail's eyes widened for a second Wait a minute… Kazama and his comrades are going to be there! She quickly scanned the room, spotting Chizuru right away. Abigail walked to the young girl and sat right beside her, calling her quietly "Chizuru…"

Abigail immediately got the girl's attention "Yes, Abi-chan?"

"Listen carefully Chizuru, it's going to be at Ikeda Inn, but stay put until Yamazaki comes back. Sannan will send you to tell Hijikata's group about it, I will stay with Kondo's group, fighting in the second floor, so please don't say anything until Yamazaki arrives." Chizuru looked at Abigail in shock.

"You saw all this happen already?" she asked, and Abigail nodded. After agreeing silently to the plan, both girls did their respective jobs. Before heading out, Hijikata called Abigail apart.

"Be careful alright?" Abigail smiled softly and nodded.

"I will, you be careful as well ok? I may save you a few ronin so you can have fun too." she joked teasingly, making Hijikata smirk. He then walked to her and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead, making her blush slightly. "Oh, Hijikata-san, I didn't say this at the meeting, but I'm sure it's Ikeda Inn. However, you need to wait for Chizuru to let you know, the Aizu arrive shortly after your group does." Hijikata was surprised, but nodded in understanding.

"Thank you Abigail." she nodded as well, then they parted ways.

The night was dark, almost no stars shimmering in the silver light Abigail liked. She was in Kondo's group, they waited silently in the shadows as the ronin walked inside the inn. Kondo's looked at the scene in slight shock, and turned to Yamazaki, who had soundlessly walked behind all of them Yamazaki, go report this to Sannan and Hijikata." he ordered, and the ninja nodded, dashing out of the alley as Kondo prepared his next move.

Abigail was looking at the inn intently, struggling to keep herself completely calm. Kondo noticed this and put a hand on her shoulder, making her look at him "Abigail, you alright?" she nodded, then stared at the inn again.

"I sense a strong aura from inside, an ominous one at that." Saito, Kondo and Heisuke looked at her surprised for a second, then looked at the inn. Kondo then gave the order to attack the inn. Kicking the front door down, Kondo stood tall and proud.

"We are the Shinsengumi! Surrender at once or be cut down on the spot!" he yelled, Abigail rolled her eyes Just like the anime. She chuckled at her own thought as she readied herself into a fighting stance, holding her ninjato steadily. She had decided to tie her hair up in a ponytail so that she could move easily during the attack, wearing her black leggings and halter top that made it look as if it was one single piece of clothes with the light blue haori over them. Her eyes gleamed light amethyst as she smirked, observing her surroundings as the ronin appeared one by one.

She heard Shinpachi and Heisuke talking about Kondo's way of announcing their presence, and she laughed lightly. "Hey, makes things more interesting, right?" she asked in a cocky way, and started dashing towards the ronin, cutting them down swiftly and skillfully It's only a matter of time until Chizuru makes it here, I have to hurry and save both Heisuke and Okita before it gets bad. And just as she thought this she noticed they were nowhere to be found on the lower floor.

She then looked upstairs "Damn!" she exclaimed, dashing up the stairs. Just when she was about to reach the top a ronin appeared, holding his sword over his head and getting ready to swing it down. Abigail gasped, she knew she wasn't gonna be fast enough to block or dodge it Damnit! I was distracted! She thought, when she saw the shine of a blade fly from behind her and stabbing the ronin right in the heart. Abigail looked back, seeing Saito was her saviour. "Saito-san! Thank you." she said.

"No time for thanking me, next time I might not be able to save you, now go." he said as he turned to fight with another ronin. She nodded and dashed to the second floor, the door flying right in front of her. She covered her face with one arm, and when she uncovered her face to see what had happened, she found Heisuke over the remains of the wooden door. She gasped "Heisuke!" she yelled, picking him up gently from the back of his neck "Speak to me Heisuke!"

Heisuke started opening his eyes "A-Abigail… O-Okita-san… dan… ger…" he struggled to get the words out, and Abigail hushed him gently.

"Sorry for making you talk, it's alright I'll take care of it." she said as she laid him gently on the wooden door. She then felt an electric shock run through her whole body that made her look straight to the next door He's there. She thought, running to the door and opening it quickly. Her eyes widened, the scene before her something she never expected to see in person. Okita was on his knees, gasping for air as he glared at a familiar man. Okita started standing up, his legs trembling as they struggled against his weight, and Abigail stared for a few seconds until she recognized the other man. Kazama…!

Anger filled Abigail's heart, and she quickly stood between Kazama and Okita, holding her ninjato straight towards Kazama. She glared at Kazama as her eyes turned the crystal blue, and Kazama smirked. "So, you're finally here. Saving your friend here I see."

"Shut your mouth! You have done just about enough damage as it is, I will not, and I mean I will not let you touch him or anyone else of the Shinsengumi for that matter. Your fight is with me!" she exclaimed angrily, and Okita looked at her in shock.

"Butt off Abigail! This guy's mine!" she then glared at Okita from over her shoulder, her eyes glowing.

"Stay there, you cannot face him in that condition nor in your perfect form, he's an oni!" she yelled, looking at Kazama once again, who was still smiling.

"Come at me." Kazama said, and Abigail dashed to him so fast that Okita couldn't see her properly.

"I will be more than happy to oblige!" she said, swinging her ninjato in an arc, aiming for Kazama's chest. He jumped backwards, but the sword grazed him still. Kazama's eyes widened, looking down at his chest, then looking at Abigail with angered eyes.

"You bitch!" he yelled, his eyes turning bright yellow and his hair turning silvery white. "I will teach you how to respect a male oni!" he dashed to her fast, and she immediately blocked with her ninjato, holding against his overwhelming strength. Okita watched as both oni fought, completely shocked. The two are just too strong… but… he looked at Abigail and noticed she was struggling, and when he was about to help her, her hair started lighting up in blue fire.

"You imbecile, I'm a woman from another time and world… and you are just getting a sneak peek of how strong women have become through the years!" Abigail screamed, swinging her ninjato and pushing Kazama away with a blast of fire. Her hair got loose, flowing graciously as she stood at the center of the room, glaring at Kazama, who was brushing her flames away. Two long pointy white ears popped from her head, and a white fuzzy tail waved from side to side "Get this one thing straight through your thick skull, women from the future do not need the protection from idiots like you, we are pretty independent. Now… it's time for you to disappear!" she swung her ninjato downwards, straight to Kazama's head, but was abruptly stopped by a large man with long burgundy hair.

Abigail's eyes widened as she stumbled back, then glared at the man "Amagiri!" she growled, making the man look at her in surprise.

"I do not know who you are woman, but I would like to solve this without use of violence." the man Abigail called Amagiri said, holding a hand up. Abigail straightened, sheathing her ninjato and looking at him, her eyes still shining blue.

"Still as peaceful as always I see…" she then turned her gaze towards Kazama "Heed my words Kazama, you will not be this lucky next time." Abigail said in a dark voice, turning towards Okita as the oni duo disappeared. She knelt in front of Okita "Are you alright?" she asked, reaching for him to help him. Okita then slapped her hand away, glaring at her.

"What gives?! First you tell me to butt off and then you let them escape?! What's wrong with you?!" he yelled, coughing harshly afterwards. Abigail just looked at him in shock, not changing her form. Abigail then stood up and sighed.

"Look, I can take on Kazama if I take on my full form, but Amagiri is another story, that oni is too strong, even for me. Sorry for trying to help." she said and turned around, seeing a wide-eyed Chizuru.

"A-Abi-chan?!" Chizuru exclaimed, and Abigail shook her head.

"Focus on Okita, we'll talk about this later." she said, and walked out of the room, leaving Okita in Chizuru's care. Just when she got out of the room, Hijikata dashed up the stairs, seeing her.

"Abigail! You…" Hijikata now saw her ears and tail, and she looked at him with surprised eyes.

"H-Hijikata-san…" she whispered. He walked to her and put a hand behind her head, pulling her gently and making her head rest against his chest. "How did it go with the Aizu?" she asked.

"They were a pain, but I managed to keep them from taking the credit of this." he answered in an ever so gentle tone. "The danger is gone, you can change back now. I will cover you until you finish transforming." he said, and Abigail's eyes widened "I want to be the only one seeing you like that Abigail."

Her cheeks turned pink He wants to keep my secret, he wants to protect me. Abigail then looked up at him "Hijikata-san…" she started, but was suddenly interrupted by footsteps sounding louder and louder as something approached them. Both of them gasped, and Hijikata turned to see the owner of the footsteps, his eyes narrowing in seriousness.

Abigail saw the shine of a deep dark indigo hair over Hijikata's shoulder, azure eyes staring at her in shock. Abigail's ears twitched as she stared at the man standing frozen in front of the couple, her crystal blue eyes looking at him in pain "Saito-san…" she whispered.

"What… is the meaning of this?" he asked, his voice sounded hoarse, surprising Hijikata. "Since when…?"

"Saito-san let me explain please…" Abigail said, but was suddenly cut off by Hijikata as he stretched his arm in front of her. She looked up at him and gasped, his eyes looked at Saito with a dangerous seriousness "Hijikata-san…" she whispered.

"Saito, what brings you here?" Hijikata asked, and Saito looked straight at him.

"Vice-commander… I…" Saito started, looking at Abigail for a second. He then shook his head and looked at Hijikata straight in the eye. "Are you by any chance… Abigail's lover?" the question took the couple by surprise, and Hijikata could not find the words to answer. Hijikata's dark purple eyes wandered to the side as he let the silence answer Saito's question. Abigail stared at Saito intently, waiting for his reaction with worried eyes.

"S-Saito…" she started.

"Abigail… why didn't you mention anything?" Saito asked bluntly, taking Abigail off-guard. Her crystal blue eyes widened as she realized something Saito… he has feelings for me… she then closed her eyes, her fox ears and tail disappearing and the fire covering her hair dissipating. She then opened her eyes, shining now in their light amethyst color.

"I- we have been having trouble finding a way to let you guys know about it… so we decided to keep it a secret until we found the right words to tell all of you…" she said in a low and sad voice.

"And what about Harada-san? Does he know?" when Saito asked this, Abigail felt her heart sink, why would Saito mention Harada, out of everybody else. Then something struck her mind, Harada had been the one saving her from the lake when she arrived in this world, he had been taking care of her, and at some point along the way she had started to look up to him as an older brother. Then, why couldn't she tell him first?

After thinking this, she looked down at the floor, her bangs covering her eyes, and shook her head. "How long have you guys been together?" Abigail was about to answer when she saw Hijikata take one step forward.

"I think it's enough with the questions, I believe that doesn't concern you." Hijikata said as he looked at Saito coldly.

"I'm sorry vice-commander, but I believe it does concern me." Saito answered.

At this, Hijikata started getting annoyed "And why would that be?" he asked in an intimidating tone. Abigail looked at Hijikata in concern Oh no… he might start fighting with Saito if this goes on… she thought. She touched Hijikata's arm gently and noticed his arm was trembling. What? Is he scared? She thought as she looked down to his hand, which was balled into a fist. She looked at his hand for a few seconds, then looked up at his face, he was starting to get angry.

"H-Hijikata-san… please let's not do this here…" Abigail softly said, but just as soon as she finished, Saito started talking.

"Well, that's because…" Saito started, and stared at both Hijikata and Abigail.

* * *

 _ **Hello everybody! Finally a new chapter! Ok, so I know it took me around a month or so to get this chapter out and I am super sorry about that. Truth is I was in finals at college and guess what?! This girl has finally finished her bachelor's degree! Oh yeah!**_

 _ **So now that I finally finished the struggle of college I can get back to writing and entertain you all! And more good news! Today I will officially post the first chapter of the Brothers Conflict fanfic too! But first take your time reading this chapter and I promise that when you are finished with this chapter the new fanfic will be out.**_

 _ **I'm really happy to be back, so enjoy this chapter! (even if it's a bit short sorry for that! .)**_

 _ **See you guys next time!**_

 _ **~Rin**_


	11. Chapter 11: No more silence

**Chapter 11: No more silence**

"That's... well..." Saito said as he looked intently at both Hijikata and Abigail, his azure eyes gleaming as the light of the moon shone on all of them. He cleared his throat and continued "Because I have fallen in love with Abigail as well." he said, ever so calmly. Both Abigail and Hijikata's eyes widened, and Abigail looked up at Hijikata, who could just stare in shock at Saito. She then felt Hijikata's arm tense up even more _Oh no... this is bad... Saito should just back away from what he said..._ she thought, but as soon as she thought about it, Hijikata was already drawing his katana, pointing it at Saito and glaring at him with his deep, dark purple eyes.

"If this is a joke of some sort I suggest you stop it Saito." Hijikata said in a ironically calm but menacing tone. Abigail grabbed Hijikata's arm, trying to calm him down.

"Wait Hijikata-san, there must be an explanation to this, can we talk it before we start a fight?" Abigail said, but Hijikata did not look at her.

"Abigail, I believe this is something that is pretty different in the time you are from, but in this era, if a man confesses his feelings for a woman that is already with someone else, he truly means it. Therefore, men should fight to see who ends up marrying the woman. Do you understand this?" Hijikata said, not looking away from Saito.

"I understand that, I studied enough about this era back when I was in school, but it doesn't have to be that way! You can talk it out and clear things up, that is how it works in my time." she said, trying to pull Hijikata's arm. He yanked it away from her grasp and she flinched, looking at both of them.

"This is your last chance Saito, if this is a joke you better take it back." Hijikata warned, but Saito shook his head in disagreement.

"I cannot joke about the truth, Hijikata-san." Saito said, Hijikata's eyes widening for a brief moment. Just as quickly his eyes narrowed, and he ran towards Saito, sword in hand. Abigail gasped.

"Hijikata-san no!" she yelled, but he was not stopping. She closed her eyes tightly and yelled "STOP!" balls of blue fire landing between the two, almost burning them. She then opened her eyes, quickly changing colors back to her light amethyst tone when she saw what had happened in front of her. Both Hijikata and Saito were frozen in place, Hijikata looking back at her with both surprise and slight annoyance. Abigail looked at them in shock, standing frozen for a few seconds. She blinked "I-I'... I didn't mean to... I'm sorry..." she said, running towards one of the rooms and jumping out of the window.

Hijikata tried to reach for her "Abigail wait!" it was too late, when he looked out the window she was nowhere to be seen. Saito stood there petrified as footsteps were heard rushing towards them. Harada and Shinpachi stopping and looking at the flames in shock, Harada then looked at Saito "Saito-san, what happened?" Saito just looked at Harada with a pained expression, making Harada's eyes widen "Wait... where are Abigail and Hijikata-san?!" just then they heard Hijikata's voice.

"ABIGAIL!" he yelled from the room, both Harada and Shinpachi walking to the door, somehow they made their way around the fire to the room Hijikata was in. Hijikata then turned to them "She ran away, we have to find her!" he said, exasperation clear in his voice. They all nodded, running out of the inn, noticing the flames had disappeared, leaving the wooden floor black.

* * *

Now back at headquarters, Harada walked in Hijikata's room after searching for Abigail. Hijikata stood up "Did you find her?" Hijikata asked worriedly. Harada shook his head.

"I'm afraid not Hijikata-san, we have searched everywhere we though she might go. But... why did she run away?" Harada asked.

"I believe that is our fault..." Saito appeared by the door, Hijikata glaring at Saito warningly. This one however, paid no mind to Hijikata's warning "I confessed my feelings towards Abigail." he admitted. Harada's eyes widened, then looked at Hijikata.

"But how does this involve you, Hijikata-san?" Hijikata glared at Saito, then looked at Harada, clearing his throat.

"That's because... Abigail and I are lovers." Hijikata said, Harada making lots of expressions before settling his thoughts. But before Harada could open his mouth the door shot open, and angry Okita panting and glaring at both Hijikata and Saito.

"Ok, what did you do to make her run away?!" Okita yelled, Harada calming him down.

"Calm down Okita, let them explain in detail." Harada said, everyone sitting down and letting both Hijikata and Saito explain the situation.

"That's when she shot fire in an attempt to stop us, then she run away in a panic." Hijikata said.

"She must be blaming herself for unconsciously shooting her fire like that." Saito said, Harada nodding without saying a word, just analyzing everything he was hearing.

"She is that kind of girl after all c but what I'm more concerned about..." Okita said, looking straight at Hijikata. "Since when are you Abigail's lover Hijikata-san?" Hijikata's eyes widened as soon as he heard the question.

"I do not think that concerns any of you." Hijikata responded.

"Actually... Hijikata-san, it does, I believe you are not the only one with feelings towards Abigail, and we do need to clarify some things." Harada said, Hijikata looking at him in shock. _This is what Abigail said... that we have to clear everything with everyone._ Hijikata sighed in both frustration and relief, and looked at his comrades.

"Abigail and I have been together for a while now, maybe two or three weeks, maybe more." Hijikata started, the other three men looking at each other. Then Harada looked at Hijikata, a bit disappointed, sighing lightly.

"Well... this is a bit depressing..." Harada said, catching the attention of the other men. "I was the one who found her in the first place, the one who saved her, but I guess she was the one who chose."

"At first I didn't even like her, she was annoyingly open about a lot of things, she has an attitude that's for sure, and she doesn't really like to be bossed around. But, when I saw her determination of protecting what is dear to her, something sparked in me..." Okita looked at the floor in thought as he spoke.

"As for me, Abigail was but another woman. A woman far too different from what we are used to, and I didn't particularly like that. But, I saw her soft side, how she truly and deeply cares, and that drew me to her, after all she has been through she smiled at us, and fought with us as well, that woman is stronger than anyone I have ever met." Saito explained, Hijikata looked at them all in shock. He saw they all noticed just how different Abigail was, and she was special not only to him, but to the others as well. Now, it was just a matter of what will happen between them all...

"There is something I do respect and love about Abigail though, and it's the fact she chooses her own path." Harada said as soon as Hijikata thought that. Hijikata looked at Harada, completely concentrated of what he was going to say. "Abigail doesn't need a man's guidance to do what she thinks is the right thing, she speaks up for herself, so if she chose Hijikata over all of us, must be for a good reason. And knowing Hijikata, I think she's in great hands." Harada looked straight at Hijikata and smiled, which surprised Hijikata.

"Harada..." he said in a low voice.

"In the time I've known Abigail, I can tell she knows exactly what she wants and will do anything to achieve it. And if this is what she wants, I will accept it." Saito said in his usual calm tone.

"I think the one in good hands is Hijikata-san." Okita started saying in his jokingly tone once again, getting the attention of the other three men in the room. It took a few seconds before Harada snorted lightly, and Saito just closed his eyes in an attempt to not look amused by what Okita had said. Hijikata then looked at him annoyed.

"And just what exactly do you mean by that?" Hijikata asked. Both Harada and Okita started laughing.

After a few hours of conversation, the four of them were finally their usual selves. Okita was teasing both Hijikata and Saito while Harada laughed at his behavior. Hijikata then stood up, walking towards the door and opening it, he then realized it was almost morning "Oh, it seems we had a really long night." He said, the other three men looking up at the door. were finally their usual selves. Okita was teasing

"Where are they?!" A female voice screamed, followed by other male voices.

"Calm down Abigail! But most importantly, where have you been all this time?! Everybody has been looking for you!." Heisuke's voice was heard, only to be muffled by Abigail's agitated voice.

"I can't calm down, knowing Okita-san he would probably say something to get himself killed! Not to mention the level of tension Saito-san and Hijikata-san had last night!" She screamed.

 _Wow... that rhymed..._ the four of them thought as the footsteps grew louder. They then saw a flash of silver pass right in front of the door, and it was total silence for a few long seconds, then Abigail peeked right into the room, seeing all four of them together and well. Her light amethyst eyes started shining as tears formed in her eyes "Y-you guys... you are all okay!" She exclaimed, the others looking at her with worried and apologetic expressions. "I was so worried... you guys were so altered last night... and I shot those fireballs by accident..." she then looked at Hijikata "But you deserved it and you know it! You didn't want to listen to me when I told you you could talk it out!" She yelled.

Hijikata's eyes widened, looking at the sudden change in her mood "Whoa... Abigail... Are you sure you are in any position to complain after disappearing last night?" He asked, and she stopped for a second, looking straight into his eyes.

"W-well... I needed to cool off... I used my fire against you and... " she said, looking down at the floor. Hijikata smiled gently and stood up, walking to her. She looked up as he walked to her "H-Hijikata-s c" her eyes widened as she felt his hand wrap around her waist. He pulled her close to him and gently pressed his lips on her forehead. Her cheeks started turning a soft pink, and he pulled away, looking straight into her eyes with his darker ones.

"I'm so glad you're okay Abigail, I'm sorry for not listening to you from the beginning." he said gently, and Abigail just looked at him, completely frozen. The others were just as surprised, then Harada looked down at the floor in pain.

 _I guess I cannot win against that..._ he thought, and Saito looked at Harada in silence for a few seconds, looking at Hijikata and Abigail once again.

 _So... I guess I'm not the only one hurting by this._ Saito thought.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Hijikata-san what was that?! Don't tell me you two are actually a thing!" Heisuke yelled, completely surprised. Abigail and Hijikata looked at the people standing outside the room, Heisuke, Shinpachi and Chizuru had their eyes wide open. Chizuru had both her hands covering her mouth as her cheeks glowed a hot pink, and Abigail turned to her, smiling.

"Chizuru... I believe I owe you, you were right." Abigail said, smiling gently at the young girl, then Chizuru jumped on Abigail, hugging her.

"I'm so happy for you Abi-chan!" the girl exclaimed, the men around them looking at the two in confusion.

Hijikata stared at both of them, and Abigail noticed "Oh... before everything started, Chizuru and I had a conversation about my feelings for you Hijikata-san. You see... when I saw you in the series in my own time, you were in love with Chizuru, and you two ended up together, however..." Abigail started, looking at Chizuru "When I told Chizuru, she reassured me it wasn't like that at all, but I didn't believe her back then... I owed her this much, she was right." Abigail looked at the younger girl with gentle eyes, her cheeks turning a soft pink "Chizuru, thanks a lot for your support." the chocolate haired girl smiled, hugging Abigail once again.

After a little while, both girls let go of each other, all the guys staring at Abigail with what seemed awe.

"Abigail..." Harada started as he stood up and walked up to her "Forgive me honesty here, but you look really beautiful when you blush." Abigail looked at him with wide eyes, then looked to her left side. Before she could answer, Harada turned to Hijikata, looking at him with serious amber eyes. "Hijikata-san... you are indeed a lucky man, make sure to protect and make that woman smile like that always." Hijikata looked at Harada in shock, then closed his eyes, nodding silently. After everyone asking their questions and whatnot, they decided to throw a party in Abigail and Hijikata's name, both of them looking at their comrades wide eyed. They all went to the dining room, having the biggest feast ever, their comrades laughed, joked and had a great time. For this special occasion, they made Abigail sit by Hijikata's side. At first the couple was embarrassed, and after a few minutes they just agreed to have fun. They ate and drank until late at night.

It was the middle of the night, only the adults were in the dining room, including Abigail, who had passed out due to many drinks. She laid down by Hijikata's side, her cheeks burning bright red. "I never would have imagined she would drink so much, she really isn't from this era." Harada said, chuckling. Hijikata chuckled as well, looking at her and gently caressing her hair.

"I agree, she's too independent, considering the fact she doesn't even wait for me to approve of the things she wants to do, she just tells me and done, she goes and does it." Hijikata simply looked at her, his dark violet eyes scanning the silver-haired beauty by his side.

"That sounds like a lot of hassle! I wouldn't have been able to handle her at all if that's true." Okita joked, laughing afterwards. The others chuckled, and Hijikata looked at Okita with naughty eyes.

"She's way too strong Souji, her character is just too stubborn for the likes of you." Okita mouthed, unable to respond to the tease, making a few faces before looking away a bit annoyed. At this reaction everybody started laughing. Abigail moved a bit, accommodating herself into a more comfortable position. Hijikata looked at her in concern.

"Hijikata-san, you should take her to her room." Saito suggested, and Hijikata immediately looked at him.

"E-excuse me?" Hijikata asked.

"It only makes sense, you are her lover after all" Harada said, smirking as Hijikata looked at him. Hijikata then scanned the whole room, the others looking at him eagerly, then he looked at everyone with an annoyed face.

"Y-you guys..." Hijikata then sighed, finishing his last drink and putting the cup softly in front of him. He turned towards Abigail, slipping a hand under her legs and another one under her back, and got up, carrying Abigail in his arms. He walked towards the door, stretching the hand under her legs and sliding the door open. Carefully he walked out of the dining room, closing the door the same way he had opened it, and walked down the hall. As he made his way towards her room, he looked down at her, stopping as his eyes widened. The moonlight shone on both of them, illuminating her features.

Hijikata stared at her, seeing every detail in her sleeping face, her marble-colored skin, her long lashes, her rosy cheeks, her glimmering lips. His eyes started scanning lower, towards her chest, and noticed her buttoned shirt had opened just enough to reveal her skin. His eyes focused on this specific spot, his cheeks turning a soft pink, and just like that he blinked, his eyes widening _No... I cannot be having such thoughts... it is not yet time._ He thought, shaking his head, and started walking again.

* * *

Hijikata reached Abigail's room, and laid her down on her tatami mattress, he was about to walk out when he noticed her clothes were not right for sleeping. He stared at her for a few seconds, then nodded to himself "I will just change her into sleeping clothes..." he whispered and looked around. He noticed a strangely designed dresser with five drawers, and decided to open the first drawer. His eyes widened as his face got completely red, and closed it immediately. "Not what I expected to see..." he said, and touched the second drawer, pulling it open, and immediately recognized the first white dress sitting on top of everything else "I saw her wear this when I confessed to her, so this must be the sleepwear drawer." he whispered as he grabbed the dress and closed the drawer. He turned to her, and gulped silently "Here goes nothing..." he said as he sat her while she slept and undid her shirt.

He looked away as he took off her bra, and put her sleeping dress on her with his eyes closed, once he was done he darted out of her room, taking a deep and long breath "Well... now that was an experience." he exhaled, covering his eyes with his hand. He shook his head slightly and headed towards his room.

Morning came, and Abigail started opening her eyes. A wave of pain the struck her head, and she moaned lightly in pain "Nng... I drank a bit too much last night..." she started, and then started looking at her surroundings, realizing she was at her room "Wait a minute... I don't remember coming to my room last night..." she shook the thought as she smelled around. "Ugh... I stink of alcohol, better take a shower before everyone wakes up..." she said, and stood up. She felt herself lighter, and looked down at herself to find out she was wearing her sleeping dress, her eyes widened, her face turning red "W-wait a sec... I'm in my sleep dress?! Does this mean that..." when she tied everything together she immediately went to her door, opening it and looking around.

She glanced at her right side, and she gasped. Hijikata was laying on the floor face down "H-Hijikata-san?!" she ran to him, kneeling by his side, touching his back. She sighed when she saw he was breathing, then she looked around "If someone finds him here like this..." she thought out loud, then looked at him with a determined look. She then grabbed his left arm, throwing it over her shoulder, and she stood up, her legs trembling "H-heavy..." she said, and dragged him back to her room, trying to lay him down on her mattress. As she went down, she suddenly lost all the strength in her legs and fell, Hijikata's unconscious body falling over hers, she moaned loudly in pain as his elbow hit her ribs. She looked down, blushing slightly as she saw his body laying on hers, and she tried to push him "Nngh! I-I can't... push... him!" she stopped, trying to get her breath back _It's hard to breathe with his weight on me... how can someone as him weight so much? He seems thin on the outside._ She thought. "He leaves me no choice... I'll have to wake him up..." she said as she started shaking him.

"H-Hijikata-san... wake up." she kept shaking him as hard as she could, taking her a few minutes before he finally grunted.

She shook him a few more times "Hijikata-san, wake up, it's morning already." she said, and he lifted his head, his eyes completely dazed.

"Uh... Abigail?" he said in his deep voice, and Abigail blushed harshly. Hijikata then blinked, immediately realizing the situation, and quickly lifted himself from her. Abigail started taking long breaths "Oh my... I'm so sorry Abigail..." he said, looking at her desperately. Abigail shook her head and smiled.

"It's fine, Hijikata-san." she said, smiling at him gently. His eyes widened, and touched Abigail's right cheek softly, staring straight at her lips. She looked at his eyes, her cheeks turning a hot pink "H-Hijikata-san...?"

Hijikata shook his head "Abigail... call me Toshizo from now on..." he said, and without giving her a chance to respond, he pressed his lips against hers, her eyes widening in surprise but closing as she let herself be swept by the warmth of his lips and body.

* * *

 **Hey everyone! Rina here! So finally after so much wait I uploaded the chapter. I had to do a MAYOR update on this chapter after writing like, 2 chapters after this one. Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did when I re-wrote it. Now, the next chapters will take -not as long as THIS chapter- but long to come out since after reading the last chapters I realized I wanted something a bit more interesting and intense, I don't want to disappoint you guys. Now that I can finally use the internet again I will be working hard to update as often as I originally planned to. Again, I am SO sorry for the long wait, the moving process has been horribly slow, but I hope you guys enjoy. See you next time!**

 _ **~Rinakuri**_


	12. Update on the story

p style="text-align: center;"emstrongHello everybody, I know it's been a long time but I'm almost done editing the few chapters I had so far. As for the chapter I have ready, expect it to come out tonight. Hopefully you like the new chapter, and as always thank you all for your amazing support./strong/em/p  
p style="text-align: center;"emstrong~Rin/strong/em/p 


	13. Chapter 12: The Tragedy

**Chapter 12: The tragedy**

It has been months since everyone in the Shinsengumi knew of Hijikata and Abigail, some were happy, others were surprised, but everyone supportive of them. However, that happiness was short lived, for a war had risen in Kyoto. Kondou had been shot and taken far away from the city along with Okita. Abigail was in the battlefield, quickly slashing and killing enemy troops. "Damnit! I knew they were a lot but I never realized they were this many…" she complained as she looked around, spotting more people.

"That's the woman! Seize her!" one of the guards yelled, a group of 5 people running towards her with raised swords. She crouched, holding her ninjato tightly, and spun on her heel, slashing all of the guards.

On the other hand, Hijikata had arrived to headquarters, holding an injured man over his shoulder. Chizuru looked at Hijikata, her eyes widening as she ran to them and helping the injured man inside. "Chizuru… where's Abigail?" Chizuru looked to Hijikata over her shoulder with grim eyes.

"She hasn't returned Hijikata-san…" Chizuru responded, Hijikata's eyes narrowing as he turned around. "Hijikata-san where are you going?!" the girl asked, and he looked back at her.

"I'm back! Sorry for the wait!" a familiar female voice screamed, followed by the sound of the roof tiles falling. Both Hijikata and Chizuru looking up with surprised eyes. Abigail had landed on the roof, carrying a man on her back, his blood staining her haori. Her face had a few bruises and was stained with dirt, her hair tied up in a high ponytail flowing as the wind blew. "This one is critically injured!" Abigail exclaimed, jumping off the roof "Hurry!"

Hijikata stared at Abigail in both awe and worry, and when she landed she quickly passed the man to the medics. As soon as she was free, Hijikata walked to her and hugged her tightly, burying his face on her shoulder. Abigail's eyes widened, instinctively wrapping her arms around his broad back "H-Hi… Toshizo…?" she asked lowly so only he could hear her.

"I got worried Abigail… please don't take so long next time…" he whispered, her cheeks flushing a soft pink. Then she nodded, smiling.

"I promise." she said softly, and Hijikata let go of her, looking straight at her eyes.

"We're going to need reinforcements…" Hijikata said in thought, and turned around towards Chizuru. When he did that, Abigail's eyes widened as she had flashbacks of what she had seen in the anime. Seeing Hijikata, Chizuru and Inoue, she walked to them.

"Hijikata-san let me go with them, please!" she asked, exasperated. The three looked at her in complete shock, then Hijikata looked at her with serious eyes.

"Is there something you know Abigail? From what you had seen?" Abigail nodded as a response, then glanced towards Inoue, looking back at Hijikata, who had followed her line of sight with his eyes, then looked at her eyes again. "I trust you Abigail… I'll allow you to go, but please be careful." he said in an ever so gentle voice, and Abigail nodded.

"I will, thank you." she said, turning towards Chizuru and Inoue "Let's go." she said, the other two nodding and walking after her. They went to get reinforcements, yet the castle was eerily quiet. Just as I expected… Abigail thought, Chizuru walking a few steps forward and calling out to the guards. Right in that moment Abigail heard a clicking sound and gasped, dashing towards the chocolate-haired girl "Chizuru watch out!" she yelled. Some of the guards pointed guns at Chizuru, and just as they shot the guns, Abigail had shielded the younger girl, two of the shots hitting Abigail in her shoulder and left side of her back. Abigail's eyes widened as she gasped Getting shot again… after so long… she thought, falling on her knees. Chizuru looked at Abigail with shocked eyes as she fell, trying to hold her.

"ABIGAIIIIIIL!" the girl yelled, echoing through the woods.

* * *

In the battlefield, Hijikata kept fighting against the enemy army, then looked towards the woods where Abigail, Chizuru and Inoue went. I have a bad feeling… he thought, taking down two more soldiers and looking at Saito, who fought a few feet away from him "Saito! I'll leave the rest to you, I'm going to check up on Abigail and the others."

Saito looked at Hijikata with serious yet worried eyes, and nodded "Leave it to me, vice-commander. Go." he simply said as he took down some soldiers. Hijikata glanced for a few seconds, then ran towards the woods.

Chizuru, Inoue and Abigail ran away from the castle, Abigail's wounds were not closing as fast, the bleeding not stopping. Abigail was panting, looking forward with clear pain in her eyes, Oh no… my vision is growing blurry… she thought, and started falling. Inoue and Chizuru heard when Abigail fell, and immediately went to her aid. "Abigail!" Chizuru exclaimed as Inoue lifted her, putting her left arm over his shoulder and walking slowly and carefully. They were almost at the exit when they found three soldiers standing in the middle of the road. Chizuru smiled and called to them, and Inoue's eyes widened, settling Abigail down.

"No wait Chizuru!" he yelled, pulling Chizuru back as the soldiers shot Inoue three times. Chizuru fell right by Abigail's side, who lifted her head.

"No… Inoue… san…" Abigail said in a weak voice, and Chizuru looked at the scene with fear, tears forming in her eyes. Shit…! I couldn't stop it from happening Abigail thought, tears forming in her eyes as well. Inoue fell face down on the dirt, and as he tried to grab a vial he had dropped the soldiers walked closer to him and stabbed him with their swords, killing him on the spot. Abigail's eyes widened as she watched what was happening in front of her, Chizuru then drew her short sword, pointing it at the soldiers and glaring at them with tears in her eyes. Abigail looked at Chizuru in fear, reaching for her "No… Chizuru don't!" Abigail yelled, but Chizuru didn't turn to look back at her.

"They killed Inoue-san… and he couldn't even defend himself…" the girl started whimpering, still glaring at the soldiers. Just as the soldiers were about to attack Chizuru, Kazama walked towards them, sword in hand. Abigail stared at him, panting and holding her shoulder tightly to lessen the pain. In the blink of an eye, Kazama killed the three soldiers, then turned to look at both females. At the sight of Abigail, Kazama's ruby red eyes glimmered slightly as he smiled in amusement.

"Ooh… the mighty kitsune has finally settled down I see…" he said as he started walking towards them, Chizuru pointed her short sword at Kazama, who stared at her "Relax… I do not plan on taking you with me today." he said. Chizuru stared at him for a few seconds, then sheathed her short sword as she glanced at Inoue's lifeless body with grim eyes. Abigail pushed herself against a nearby tree to straighten herself up, glaring at Kazama.

"I swear Kazama… if you dare touch Hijikata-san or Chi-" Kazama put a finger on Abigail's lips, smirking at her.

"I don't need to touch anyone my dear kitsune." Kazama said, and Abigail just glared straight at the male oni's eyes, panting lightly. Just when Abigail was about to respond, she heard Chizuru's scream. Both Abigail and Kazama turned their looks towards Chizuru, who held her short sword in front of her. A small army of soldiers walked towards the young girl, and Kazama quickly dashed to them, slashing every single one of them down.

Hijikata ran towards the woods, when he caught a glimpse of silver at the far end of the road. Hijikata's eyes widened when he suddenly saw Abigail sitting on the ground, holding her right shoulder in pain. "ABIGAIL!" he yelled, Abigail's eyes widening in shock and looking towards him as he ran to them. Hijikata then saw Kazama by Chizuru's side, the young girl then smiled and tried to run towards him, but was stopped by Kazama, who stepped right in front of her, smirking at Hijikata. As he ran, he saw Inoue's lifeless body, then glared at Kazama, drawing his sword and attacking Kazama.

"Hijikata-san no!" Chizuru yelled, and Abigail stood up, holding herself against the tree, looking at both men fighting harshly. Chizuru then drew her own sword, and in an attempt to stop Kazama, he grabbed her hand and twisted her arm just enough for her to drop her sword.

Abigail gasped "Chizuru!" she screamed, and Hijikata held his position, looking at both Chizuru and Abigail, completely frozen. Kazama then smiled darkly.

"What is it? Can't make a move?" Kazama teased. As Hijikata stood there frozen, Abigail drew her sword, running towards Kazama, and just when she swung her blade Kazama disappeared. Abigail gasped, holding her ninjato in front of her, then she turned to look behind her, but it was too late. Kazama kicked her ninjato out of her hand, Abigail screaming as she held her hand, then glared at Kazama swinging her arm in an arc to hit him, who held her arm with his free hand, and threw Abigail against the ground.

"Gah!" Abigail's face hit hard against the ground, Hijikata's eyes widening at the scene, almost immediately he glared at Kazama as the oni held Abigail in place by putting a foot on her back. Still holding Chizuru behind him, Kazama looked straight at Hijikata's eyes, smirking.

"Go ahead, you're just human after all." Hijikata then ran to him, but stopped as Kazama pulled his sword and held it close to Abigail's neck. Abigail looked at Hijikata, her light amethyst eyes shining and strands of silver hair falling in front of her face.

"Hijikata-san… don't…" she whispered, and he looked at her seriously. Hijikata then put his hand inside his haori, pulling out a vial with bright crimson liquid. Abigail's eyes widened in fear "Hijikata-san don't! Don't drink the Ochimizu!" Abigail yelled, Hijikata looking straight at her with serious eyes. Chizuru stared at Hijikata with the same level of fear, but kept completely quiet. Abigail stared at Hijikata, tears forming in her eyes "N-no… please… don't do it…" she said softly, trying to hold back her tears.

"I'm sorry Abigail… but… I have to save you… both you and Chizuru…" Hijikata said, popping the vial open and drinking the crimson liquid. Abigail's eyes widened once again, and moved her right arm, trying to reach for him.

Abigail took a deep breath "TOSHIZOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

It was too late for them, almost as soon as he drank the liquid, Hijikata's hair turned white, and he dropped his head, dropping the crystal vial as well. The vial broke when it touched the ground, and Abigail just stared at Hijikata, every breath she took was shaken "T-Toshizo…" she whispered, Chizuru looked at him in complete shock, and Kazama just stared at him, glancing down at Abigail and back at Hijikata.

"This will be fun…" he said throwing Chizuru away, the young girl yelping as she ran a few steps and held herself against a tree. She turned to look back at Kazama and Abigail, when she saw Kazama was raising his leg, throwing it down onto Abigail's back with force. Abigail gasped and grunted in pain, then Kazama looked at Hijikata. Hijikata twitched at Abigail's voice, then slowly looked up at Kazama. His eyes were no longer purple, they now shone a crimson red, glaring straight at Kazama. Abigail looked at Hijikata, trying to hold herself with her right arm, when suddenly a wave of intense pain ran through her whole body. Abigail moaned in pain, the blood stain on her haori growing bigger and bigger. In just a split second, Hijikata dashed towards Kazama, holding his sword high and swinging it, aiming for Kazama's neck. Kazama dodged it by moving backwards, jumping away from both Abigail and Hijikata, but Hijikata did not let Kazama breathe. He swung his sword again, grazing Kazama's left cheek.

Kazama jumped back, and touched his cheek, looking at his blood-stained finger, then glared at Hijikata "You…! A human dares to scar my face?!" Kazama yelled, exasperated. Hijikata then smirked darkly at Kazama.

"What is it oni? Did I harm your pride?" Hijikata said. Abigail struggled to stand, panting as she kept bleeding I have to stop them… or else Yamazaki will die… I have to at least save Yamazaki. She thought as she got on her knees. Kazama, completely enraged, dashed at Hijikata, swords clashing so hard sparks flew from every blow. They both went flying to opposite sides, glaring at each other, and Kazama then started changing. His hair started turning white, his eyes turning bright yellow and horns growing out of his forehead. Hijikata scoffed "Finally getting serious?" he teased, and in the blink of an eye, Kazama appeared right in front of Hijikata. Abigail's eyes widened That's the final blow! No! she ran to them, Chizuru gasped.

"No! Abigail!" she yelled, but Abigail was too fast for the young girl to grab her. I have to stop them…!

Abigail reached for Hijikata, holding the arm with the sword down "NO!" she yelled, embracing Hijikata. Hijikata's eyes widened, Abigail staring straight at him with wide eyes as well. Kazama looked at her surprised, for his sword had slashed her back diagonally, the tip of his sword stained with her blood. "T-Toshi… s-stop…" Abigail said, her eyes struggling to stay open, Hijikata looked at her in shock, both his hair and eyes turning back to their natural color.

"No… Abigail…!" he exclaimed, and Abigail started falling. Hijikata immediately held onto her, and he gasped as soon as he felt his arms getting wet with a warm liquid Blood?! Abigail's blood?! He thought "No no no Abigail… hold on…!" he said as he dropped to his knees with her, embracing her. He rested Abigail on his lap, her body growing limp quickly. Hijikata desperately caressed her cheeks, staring at every feature. Abigail coughed lightly, looking straight at Hijikata's eyes.

"T-Toshi…zo… are you… b-back to… normal…?" Abigail asked between every breath, and Hijikata hushed her gently.

"Abigail… don't talk, please." he said desperately, Chizuru running to them. Amagiri and Yamazaki appeared, Yamazaki immediately going towards Abigail and Hijikata. "Yamazaki… help her, please…" Hijikata begged, and Yamazaki's eyes widened in surprise, nodding afterwards.

"I'll do what I can vice-commander, but please calm down." the young man said.

"I'll help him… please Hijikata-san, let's go." Chizuru said, and Hijikata nodded, glaring at Kazama. Silently, Hijikata stood up with Abigail in his arms, turning and walking away. Kazama just stared as they walked away.

"What have I done…?" Kazama said in a low voice, turning back to normal, and Amagiri looked at him.

"Regretting something?" Amagiri asked, and Kazama just scoffed lightly.

"Let's just go…" Kazama said, disappearing in an instant. Amagiri stared where Kazama was standing, then towards the group, bowing once and disappearing as well.

The group made it back to headquarters, the other captains were already waiting for them, and stood up when they saw Hijikata carrying an unconscious Abigail. "Hijikata-san what happened?!" Heisuke asked both worriedly and surprised.

"Make the questions later, help me get a tatami for Abigail, quickly!" Hijikata ordered, the captains moving quickly. Once they found a tatami, Hijikata laid Abigail face down, only to find out the long and deep looking gash was gone. Hijikata searched her back "That's right… but then why…" he looked at her, she was panting quickly, trying to get some air.

"Hijikata-san! Her shoulder and lower back, she was shot twice before we faced Kazama. Please, let me and Yamazaki handle this Hijikata-san…" Chizuru said, and Harada touched Hijikata's shoulder.

"Hijikata-san, let them do their job, they know what they're doing." after a few seconds of silence, Hijikata agreed and got out of the room, Harada leading him towards a nearby table. They both sat down, Saito going to them shortly after.

"Vice-commander… what happened?" Saito asked, and Harada looked back at Saito with grim eyes.

"Abigail… she was heavily wounded…" Hijikata's eyes twitched, and he landed a punch on the table.

"I lost control… and she shielded me from an attack…" Hijikata said, the other two looking at him in shock. Saito was speechless, and could only stare at Hijikata's expression. The man was clearly worried, his fist trembling as it rested on the wooden table. A few hours went by, everyone was silently waiting outside, Hijikata rested his head on his hands, and jerked up as soon as he heard the door slide open. He saw Chizuru come out and closing the door behind her, she had a tired expression, and looked straight at him. Hijikata stood up "How is she?"

"Hijikata-san… we managed to get her out of danger… but I'm afraid she won't regain consciousness anytime soon…" everyone was surprised.

"Why not?" Hijikata asked.

"The bullets." Yamazaki said as he walked out of the room, a metal plate in hand with two silver bullets. Hijikata and the others looked at the bullets quizzically. "They seem to be made out of silver vice-commander. But I am still not exactly sure, it's too heavy for a silver-only bullet." he explained, the others looking at Hijikata, who then looked at Yamazaki.

"Can I at least see her?" Hijikata asked and Yamazaki nodded, opening way for him to go inside the room. Hijikata walked to the door, opening it gently and going inside the room, closing the door behind him. The others looked at each other with pained expressions, Saito and Harada looking straight at the door.

Abigail was laying face up, her face serene and slightly pale. Hijikata walked to her and dropped to his knees by her side, looking at her features Abigail… I saw you, I saw you hurt… and I just… his hands balled into fists, trembling slightly. "I should have stopped… but I was so angered, seeing you hurt…" he said softly, his voice trembling. Then he smirked slightly and scoffed lightly "Isn't it ironic? The first time we met, you were also being treated by Yamazaki… only that Harada was there, you screamed as they pulled out the strange looking glass out of your shoulder… then, after everything was finished, you fainted, laying the same way you are right now… back then I just thought of you as a human…" Hijikata moved his hand to her left cheek, caressing it gently "So much has happened in the past years… I've gotten to know you better, and I can say for sure you are strong enough to pull through this… so please…" he whispered as he got close to her face, gently kissing her lips, a long, caring kiss. He then pulled away, staring straight at her "Please Abigail… wake up…"

Everyone waited outside in silence, Chizuru's tears running down her cheeks, Harada looked at the young girl and placed a hand on her head "Chizuru… she will be alright…" the girl then shook her head.

"B-but… I should have just done what she asked… she asked me not to try anything… and yet… both Hijikata-san and I…" the girl said between sobs.

"Hijikata-san? What happened there Chizuru?" Harada asked, everyone paying attention to the girl.

"We were running away… when three enemy soldiers shot Inoue-san… I was about to confront them when Kazama appeared and killed them… by that time Abi-chan was already shot, and she was struggling to stand up. That's when Hijikata-san appeared, he must have misunderstood the situation… and thought Kazama was the one who killed Inoue-san and injured Abi-chan… then they both… started fighting…" the girl started crying.

Harada then looked at Saito, who stared silently at the girl, then Harada looked down at Chizuru as well. "Then… what happened?"

"H-Hijikata-san drank the Ochimizu… and when they were both about to give the final blow… Abigail jumped between them both… Kazama's sword cut her back… as she held Hijikata-san's arm in order to stop him…" the girl sobbed, the others looking at her with both shocked and sad eyes. Saito then looked down at the floor, Harada looking at him immediately.

"Saito-san?" Harada called, and the azure-eyed man looked up, his eyes full of rage.

"Hijikata-san lost control… and just wanted to protect us…" Chizuru said.

"The vice-commander did tell me he sensed something was wrong before he took off… but to think something like this was going to happen… I should've gone with him as well…" Saito said, looking at the floor, Harada then shook his head.

"Saito-san, nobody would have guessed something like this was going to happen… for now, we have to just wait for Abigail to get better." Harada said, looking at the door, the others doing the same in complete silence.


	14. Chapter 13: Rage within sadness

****Chapter 13: Rage within sadness****

While waiting on Hijikata to come out of the room, the others just stared at each other with sad expressions. However, one of the captains decided to just stand on a dark corner, almost invisible to the others. Harada then walked up to him, placing a hand on the man's shoulder "Saito-san, I understand how you feel, but we have to wait until Hijikata-san tells us how she's doing." he said in a soft tone, making the azure eyed man look at him. His eyes reflected anger, yet Harada could not make what the man was thinking. Saito then reacted, surprising Harada completely.

Saito simply closed his eyes and sighed, then looked at Harada "You're right, everybody is already worked up, I might as well just try to calm down."

Hearing those words, both men then joined the rest of the team, Chizuru still crying, sobbing lightly "A-Abi-chan... please be alright..." Heisuke was by the girl's side, trying to calm her down.

"Calm down Chizuru, Abigail is strong, I'm sure she'll be alright." he said, the girl's chocolate colored eyes looking at his teal ones while tears kept forming and rolling down her now red cheeks.

* * *

 _"_ _ _Abigail..." she heard a voice from the distance, slowly opening her eyes. The bright light pierced her eyes, and she struggled to focus. "Abigail." the voice called again, yet all she could see was color stains mixed with white__ _._

 _ _"Who... who is it? Who's calling me?" she said, noticing her voice was extremely hoarse and barely audible. Her eyes widened, and she started sitting up, scanning her surrounding but still not able to focus her vision. She looked towards her left, and all she could see were more stains surrounded in white, she then turned to look towards her right, and found a silhouette standing just a few feet away from her. To her surprise, her vision started focusing, and she could slowly make out who the person standing there was. She gasped, tears forming in her eyes "K-Kino..." she whispered.__

 _ _The man then started walking to her, giving her the saddest smile she had ever seen. She started making out his features perfectly, his tanned skin, his young looking face, his dark brown hair and olive green eyes. Abigail then noticed something she had seen before "Kino, you are wearing white again." the man nodded.__

 _ _"Yes, and so are you." he said, making her look at herself. She was wearing a pure white long dress with long sleeves, the neck shaped in a v that showed a considerable part of her chest. She then noticed something strange, her right hand had a bright red mark shaped as a lotus flower, and one of its petals had started to fade.__

 _ _"What's going on?" she asked, and Kino's expression turned grim.__

 _ _"You are about to die... right now you are in your own Limbo world." Kino explained and she looked at him with a horrified expression.__

 _ _"I'm about to... die?" she asked, completely incredulous. Kino then nodded.__

 _ _"Here, let me show you..." he said, waving his left hand. The white mist around them started dispersing, creating an oval window, and what Abigail saw through the window made her heart sink. Hijikata was siting by her side, and she noticed he was holding her hand.__

 _ _"Toshizo!" she yelled, rushing to the window and resting her hands on it "Toshizo I'm here! Toshizo!" she screamed, tears forming in her eyes. Kino held her shoulders.__

 _ _"Abigail calm down... unfortunately he cannot hear you, remember, you are about to die..." she shook her head, not looking away from the window.__

 _ _"No... I have to go back to him... he drank the Ochimizu... he needs someone to keep him in check..." she said, the image shifting. Now she saw everyone else, Chizuru crying as Heisuke tried to calm her down. Abigail gasped "Ch-Chizuru..." she whispered. Kino looked at her "That's right..." she started saying "Chizuru is still there... she will be able to be by his side now... like it was supposed to be from the beginning..."__

 _ _Kino's grip on her shoulders tightened, and she looked back at him with a puzzled look "I never thought you would give up that easily..." he started talking, their surrounding turning gray.__

* * *

Hijikata kept holding her hand, he had decided to put it against his forehead __Please Abigail... come back…__ he thought, then gasped, pulling her hand away and looking at her in shock. "Her hand... it's so cold...! Abigail?!" he started saying, then looked towards the door "Chizuru! Yamazaki!" he yelled, the door opening almost immediately. Both Chizuru and Yamazaki walked inside the room while the others looked at what was happening from the other room.

"What is it Hijikata-san?!" the young girl asked, completely surprised.

"She's cold, Abigail is slowly getting cold!" Hijikata exclaimed, and both Yamazaki and Chizuru rushed to her aid, checking her while Hijikata held her hand.

* * *

 _ _"Abigail... are you going to forget our promise already?" Kino asked with a pained look in his face. Abigail's eyes widened as they shone in their natural amethyst tone as he dropped his head. "You promised to not lose yourself Abigail... why are you willing to give up?" he asked.__

 _ _"K-Kino..." she started, but he looked straight at her.__

 _ _"No Abigail!__ _ _Y__ _ _ou promised not to lose yourself! Why are you giving up now?! Didn't you say you love him?! Why just let that go?!" he yelled.__

 _ _"I'm about to die! Didn't you say so yourself?!" Abigail yelled back, tears forming in her eyes.__

 _ _"And you're just going to accept it?! Are you going to embrace death without a fight?! Look at them Abigail! They need you, they are desperately calling out to you! But it seems you do not want to go back to them! You seem to be the only one who cannot hear them!" Kino yelled, pointing at the window, by this point, everything around them turned almost black, the wind blowing so hard it was almost like being inside a tornado. Abigail looked around as the wind blew around them.__

 _ _"W-what's happening?!" she asked, completely afraid of how drastically the weather had changed.__

 _ _"Your heart is in turmoil, you have to make a decision, and quick! Or else you'll be dragged to Hell." Kino said. "__ _ _Look at your hand Abigail." he said, and she did. She then noticed two petals had disappeared, only three remained. She then understood, her time was running out, and she had to make a choice quickly,__ _ _and looked up at him.__

 _ _"B-but... what about you?" she asked. He looked at her with a familiar smirk, and he then walked to her, wrapping his arms around her.__

 _ _"Abi, have you forgotten? I've been dead for almost 2 years. Don't throw your life away for me." Kino said in a gentle tone, and Abigail's heart started sinking as she realized that what he was saying was true. He had already died, and along the way she had forgotten that fact, realizing it once again made her whole body ache, and she wanted that ache to go away. Tears started forming in her amethyst-toned eyes and she wrapped her arms around him, light sobs escaping her throat.__

 _ _"I'm sorry Kino... I'm sorry I forgot about you. I'm so sorry." she cried, and Kino just caressed her long silver hair.__

 _ _"It's alright Abi, you had to continue living, and still have. Now go, there's people waiting for you." he pushed away from her, holding her shoulders as his hands trembled slightly. "I love you Abi, and goodbye." her eyes widened as she heard those words, for she knew he meant them, it was a definite goodbye, they were never going to see each other again. She looked at him with extreme pain in her eyes, then looked back at the window. "It's time Abi. You have to go through the window in order to go back to your body." Abigail looked at him and nodded, and he slowly let go, giving her a sad smile. "I'll miss you Abi."__

 _ _"Goodbye Kino..." she whispered as the strong winds pushed her slightly. She then turned to look at window, walking towards it and seeing as everything around her was turning white, leaving a smiling Kino behind.__

* * *

As Chizuru and Yamazaki did their best to keep Abigail's temperature at normal levels, Hijikata was sitting in a corner of the room, watching as Abigail's skin turned pale. __What is going on? Why is she like this when she was recovering just fine…__ he thought. Almost immediately, both Chizuru and Yamazaki gasped as Abigail took a deep breath, color returning to her body slowly. A tear ran down her left eye as she started opening them. Hijikata stood up, almost bolting to her side.

"Abi-chan!" the young girl exclaimed as Abigail's eyes adjusted back.

"Ch-Chizu... ru..." Abigail's voice seemed to be struggled, it was hoarse and barely audible. Hijikata knelt by her side, caressing her hair.

"Try not to speak, you've been asleep for hours." he said in a gentle tone, surprising both Chizuru and Yamazaki. Her eyes looked at him and she started raising her hand, gently touching the right side of his face.

"T-Toshizo..." she said gently, making his eyes widen in shock __Her voice…__ he thought. His whole body just froze when he heard her call his name, he could just stare at her eyes, which lacked the usual shine they normally had. Then he noticed something unusual, the inner corner of her eyes had started turning crystal blue which gradually led to the natural amethyst color on her outer corner. __What exactly is going on with her? Some of her__ _ _features__ _ _have changed.__ he thought as he observed her. He was snapped out of his thoughts quickly when Abigail moaned softly in pain, panting slightly.

"Abigail what's wrong?" Hijikata asked immediately.

"My... my back... still hurts..." Abigail said, and without waiting for his orders, Chizuru and Yamazaki turned her over, immediately checking her back. As they removed her clothes, Hijikata couldn't help but look away, his cheeks turning slightly pink. Chizuru then gasped, making Hijikata look at her.

"What's wrong Chizuru?" Hijikata asked in concern.

"A mark..." the young girl said, and Hijikata looked down at Abigail's back. A beautiful floral tattoo decorated her skin, a considerate amount of amaryllis and carnation flowers colored her whole upper back down to the right side of her back. "This wasn't there before." Chizuru said in concern. Hijikata glanced at the young girl for a second, and then back down to Abigail's back, wondering what could that tattoo possibly mean. For now however, they had decided to focus on Abigail's injured back, the holes form the bullet impacts were closing at a slower pace, at least for her. Hijikata then observed her back a little, some light scars here and there __Are these... from old injuries?__ he thought __By the way they look, it seems she didn't have the enhanced healing back when these happened.__ Once patched up, they covered Abigail's wounds and flipped her face up once again, letting her rest. Chizuru and Yamazaki walked out of the room first, Hijikata started doing the same when he decided to take a look at Abigail. Her eyes were slightly open as she looked at him and smiled.

"I'll be fine... I promise." she said, and Hijikata walked to her, kneeling by her side and landing a gentle kiss on her lips. After the kiss, Hijikata looked straight at her eyes with his dark purple ones.

"I know you will." he said, standing up and leaving the room as well, closing the door behind him. Once he closed the door, Abigail's eyes closed as she drifted to sleep.

At the other room, all the other captains started flooding them all with questions, although most of them were about how Abigail was doing. Chizuru and Yamazaki explained everybody how Abigail had fortunately escaped danger, although they didn't dare get into details as to how was it that she could survive. Hijikata was mostly silent, unable to answer any questions, he was mostly in a daze. It was almost morning now, and Hijikata had sent everybody to sleep for it was not an easy night for anyone, all except two captains followed orders, for Harada and Saito still had some questions for their vice-commander. Hijikata glanced at them with a questioning look "Yes? What is it?" he asked, his voice clearly reflecting how tired he was.

"Hijikata-san, what exactly happened to Abigail?" Harada asked with a concerned look. Hijikata was about to brush the question off, but seeing how both Harada and Saito were looking at him, he knew he could not just brush them, it was just not going to work this time. Realizing this, Hijikata just sighed, covering his eyes with his left hand.

"She was about to die... and all because of me..." he said, the two captains looked at each other and then back to their vice commander. "I almost lost Abigail..."

"With all due respect vice-commander..." Saito started speaking, surprising both Hijikata and Harada "I think that instead of feeling sorry about it, you should be grateful she is still alive. I believe it would be best to focus on what to do now, knowing she's still here with us." Hijikata's eyes widened, he had never expected Saito to be the one to speak some sense into him. But Saito was right, he should be focusing on the fact that she was alive, that she was still by his side, and how he can protect her from future harm. Hijikata was silently looking at his hands __These hands didn't have the strength to protect her or anybody else for that matter, I should get stronger. For them.__ he thought, then smirked.

Letting out a soft scoff, Hijikata then looked up at the two captains standing right in front of him "I never expected to be brought back to my senses like this, but I have to thank you Saito-san, you clearly woke me from my daze." his face reflected conviction and determination, his eyes had a fire in them that reflected the dangerous level of motivation he got. Harada then smiled a cocky smile at him.

"Aw yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" he exclaimed, and Saito closed his eyes, smiling slightly. Things were about to take a turn none of them would expect.

* * *

A few nights after Abigail's incident, the Shinsengumi decided to move to a better location, and had also contacted Itou Kashitarou to assist them in their quest. It was now the day that Itou was coming to the Shinsengumi, and the captains were all tense. Abigail had fully recovered, and since knowing that Itou was coming, she had not been in her brightest mood. She had been trying hard not to say a thing and keep it to herself, so she had distanced herself days before Itou came to the headquarters. Heisuke, Nagakura and Harada were walking together through the halls as usual, and this specific topic came up. "Man, Abigail sure hasn't come out of her room in these past few days." Heisuke said, resting his hands behind his head.

"I know, she didn't seem very pleased when Hijikata-san mentioned that Itou-san was joining us." Harada said "She had been sulking all day, and then locked herself in her room, she would only come out to get her food if Chizuru wasn't able to bring it to her."

"Chizuru also said that she has been trying to talk Abigail into coming out, but Abigail doesn't even want to hear about it, she just changes the topic immediately." Nagakura kept talking. The trio did not notice that Hijikata was right behind them when they were talking about this topic.

"Is that so?" Hijikata asked with a dark face, scaring the three captains "I think I will need to have a chat with her then..." he said in a low and dangerous voice, turning around and walking hastily towards Abigail's room. __She has been upset ever since she heard Itou was coming? She definitely knows something she does not want to say out loud.__ he thought.

Abigail sat on her tatami, writing on a piece of paper. She then sighed __I have to come out of this room eventually, but I know that if I do I might want to just kill that bastard Itou.__ The door flew open as soon as she finished her thought, and she jumped, looking back at who was the one responsible for scaring her. Her eyes widened when she saw it was Hijikata, who was staring down at her with a dark expression. A chill ran down her spine __This pressure... I haven't felt it since I first came here... what is he mad about?__ she thought.

Hijikata then closed the door behind him, walking to her and sitting down by her side with his eyes closed. He then opened his eyes and looked at her with what seemed to be frustration. "Care to tell me what you're hiding now?" he asked. Abigail blinked once, completely taken aback.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"I overheard that you have been upset ever since it was decided for Itou to join us. I suppose you know something and you have been avoiding coming out as to not say anything." her eyes looked at him shocked, he could already tell exactly what was going on in her mind. She knew trying to lie was going to make things worse, for Hijikata was not going to let go of the topic, it was just the type of man he was. Abigail then looked down at her paper with an annoyed look, she couldn't deny the fact that she couldn't hide anything from him anymore was frustrating her to no end, but her heart was winning her internal fight, her love for the man sitting by her side was greater than her stubbornness.

"From what I saw in the show... Itou will eventually betray the Shinsengumi, he makes a deal with the Choushuu clan. You guys manage to kill him, but..." she stopped for a second, and Hijikata looked at her with a curious look.

"But?" he asked in a surprisingly soft tone. Abigail looked at his eyes.

"There was a high price to pay... and the one who actually pays the price... is Heisuke." Hijikata's eyes widened a little, and then looked at the little desk Abigail was working on in thought.

"Is there any other way to kill Itou without harming Heisuke?" hearing this, Abigail's eyes looked down.

"The only way... is to not let Heisuke go with Itou when the time comes... but that is impossible." she said, and Hijikata nodded in agreement.

"That's true... Itou was Heisuke's teacher... he would want to go with him. Are there more details you are not telling me about?" she nodded when Hijikata asked, and explained everything she had seen in the anime series. Hijikata was thoughtful for long minutes, trying to think of a way he could change the seemingly inevitable fate his comrades were about to face.

"Toshizou... we have to let it happen... unfortunately if we change anything it could mean that the future will also change... you guys marked history, made a huge impact, so much it changed the whole country." Abigail started saying. Hijikata then looked at her.

"Come to the meeting." she was shocked when she heard those words.

"W-what?"

"Come greet Itou, I want you to be there when he arrives." Abigail couldn't think straight for a moment, and she then looked at him with an annoyed face.

"Are you insane?! Given what I just told you and you still want me to go see the bastard?!" she exclaimed, although her tone was more of an alarmed whisper so only he could hear her. Hijikata stared straight at her eyes with a seriousness she had only seen once in the anime series, and she went quiet for a brief second. "W-what do you have in mind Toshizou?" she asked.

"I want to see something… that's why I need you there." he simply said, both of them staring at each other, Abigail clearly thoughtful. After a little while, she nodded.

"Alright… I believe in you..."

* * *

 _ **Hello guys! Rin finally back! Now I have good news, I have finally finished my moving process that has taken over a year, so that means... *drum-roll***_

 _ **That I'm finally back into writing!**_

 _ **I am relaxed enough now to have the proper time to write and continue with bigger and better ideas, these past few months have been hell, but I pulled through, just for all of you. So without further a-dew! (Yes, spelled it wrong for the fun of it XP) Finally more to come!**_

 _ **I want to truly thank all of you who kept patiently waiting for a new chapter, I have been a horrible author and keeping you like this is unforgivable, but! I'm finally back, finally writing, and coming better than ever. Again, thanks for the support you guys, you are the best!**_

 _ **With lots and lots of love;**_

 _ **~Rin**_


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